Yugioh Arc V Lost Pendulum
by Romadrox8975
Summary: The pendulum will continue to swing, only they will decide where it will move, will they be consumed by a past they lost or will they find a new path in their lives?(A fusion between anime and Arc v Manga, with some new elements in it)
1. Chapter 1

_**Chapter 1: Awaken of the King of Justice.**_

Night was always beautiful in Maiami City. As a city built on the back of entertainment, it was only natural. The quiet stillness was contrasted perfectly by the many colored lights shining across the architecture and making the whole thing sparkle even more brightly than the starry sky overhead.

The young man overlooking this scene from the tower at its heart couldn't care less about any of that, however. Pushing up the red glasses sitting at the bridge of his nose, Reiji Akaba watched several translucent screens placed over the glass of the building's windows. Tonight would be an important night in his quest to protect the city. If all went well, he'd finally be rid of one major source of annoyance in his life.

"Sir, I've confirmed the target's location," a woman's voice spoke from her earpiece. "I'm closing in now."

"Proceed as planned," Reiji confirmed. "I shouldn't need to remind you of how important this mission is. Don't let me down, Masumi."

"Of course." The woman replied. From her own position standing along some steel girders at a construction sight, she was able to make out the sight of some commotion happening a few rooftops away. Zooming in using a pair of technologically-enhanced glasses, bright lights and explosions gave way to a pair of people, both of them wanted by LDS.

Taking a moment to straighten the black tie around her neck, she pulled on the ruby-colored tie clip in the shape of a rose and grasped it in her hand. With a flick of her wrist, a length of shimmering green extended from one end to form a rope-like whip. Cracking it into the air, it wrapped itself around another girder hanging from a crane nearby, allowing her to safely swing down and pursue the two persons of interest.

As she expertly crossed rooftops in a dead sprint, she couldn't help but think about how all this had come to be. She was Masumi Kotsu, enforcer and personal bodyguard to President Reiji Akaba. It seemed like just yesterday she was an aspiring Entertainment Duelist working at her father's jewelry shop part time. Now she was tracking down a pair of criminals in the dead of night in order to protect this city from threats it didn't even realize existed. How quickly things changed.

Another explosion pulled her out of her thoughts, priorities realigning to what was most important. As the smoke and glittery confetti cleared, she spotted a young man in a white hooded cape hanging onto a chubby bird creature as it flew through the air. Following close behind on the ground was what looked like a woman dressed entirely in black.

"Phantom, give me that box," the woman hissed. "Stop struggling. No one can escape destiny." Flaring her fingers, a series of red threads extended from all ten which she whipped through the air to strike at the one known as Phantom.

Despite his disadvantaged position, Phantom used some adept acrobatics to avoid the attack. The same couldn't be said for his bird, one of the threads cleaving the thing in half before it burst into a puff of multicolored smoke.

He did a twirl as he fell, deftly landing on the ledge at the side of the rooftop. "Sorry, little buddy." He said, looking over his shoulder to where the bird had been in the sky. Solid Vision or not, he seemed to believe that the hologram deserved a better end than that.

Somersaulting off the ledge to avoid a lashing by the woman's threads, Phantom's escape would have to be put on hold as he ran headfirst into yet another enemy. It appeared to be one of his attacker's monsters standing before him, some sort of white and teal robot creature with a lyre attached to its back. It held a sword in one of its chunky hands, lifting it overhead to slash at him.

"Attack, Gem-Knight Rubyz!" On the command of its owner, another monster appeared from off to the side, catching his enemy's blade with its own sickle before knocking it back and cutting it through the abdomen. This one was likely another construct of Solid Vision given the slim chances that his savior would actually be a towering knight in red armor and a blue cape.

He sighed, relieved to have someone on his side. Having said that, it looked like his judgment might have been a bit hasty now that the knight turned its weapon on him, pressing the blade against his neck. "Wait, why do you want to attack me now?"

Masumi stepped out of the shadows to reply, sunflower yellow suit almost glowing in the darkness. "Now that I've finally gotten a good look at you, it seems like I was wrong about you being just some common criminal. The look in your eyes is different. You're not some professional thief, but...something different. You have imagination and a goal which is probably why you've been so successful at escaping us up until now."

Phantom started to laugh. He was a bit unnerved at how much this person managed to read from him in just one interaction, but he was never one to let things get him down. "Oh, come on. If you know all that, you know I'm not here to fight you. Why don't we just put the holograms away and talk about all this?"

As he said this, he subtly tried to push the box he'd been carrying behind his back and out of view, though Masumi proved to be too quick for him. With a crack of her whip, she snatched it up from the ground and pulled it back into her hand.

"Hey, stop!" Phantom shouted. "That's important! I can't let anyone get a hold of that box."

"I'm not concerned with what you have to do," Masumi told him coldly. "My job is to retrieve this and take you in."

"Didn't you just say I wasn't some kind of criminal?" he argued. "That means you should let me go."

"My assessment of you doesn't change my mission," she said as he monster pressed its weapon into him further. "You'll be coming with me now."

Once again, help came from the most unexpected of places. The woman from before seemed to decide now would be the ideal time to attack, her threads thrown into the air and startling both her enemies. However, she drew back the moment a spotlight hit all of them, retreating to the shadows as a trio of LDS helicopters appeared in the sky.

Though Phantom himself was still in a fairly tight spot, that distraction was what he needed to make his exit. Using Masumi's brief lapse in concentration, he rolled backwards into a standing position and snapped his fingers. "Well, this whole thing has gotten a little too much attention for my liking. I prefer my shows to be a bit more of an intimate affair, you know?" He laughed at himself, drawing three cards from his deck and placing them onto his duel disk. "So I guess this is it. Until we meet again! Goodnight!"

Phantom and the surrounding area were engulfed in a cloud of smoke, the fumes slowly branching off to form into the shapes of different circus animals. Masumi fanned in front of her face, her monster slashing wildly to clear the air and try to stop the target from escaping. Predictably, this didn't work as planned.

With a sigh, Masumi radioed in for a status update. "Sir, I-"

"Did you capture the target?" Reiji asked, unconcerned with whatever else she might say."

"No, I failed," she stated, clenching her fist hard enough to turn her knuckles white. "I did retrieve whatever he was after. I can also confirm that the Clan was here as you predicted."

"I see," he replied, his voice betraying no hint of emotion for Masumi to latch onto. "Then I'm ordering an extraction. You need to return here at once to deliver what you've obtained."

"Of course, sir." She said, the line cutting off after that. A few seconds later, one of the helicopters above began to descend, letting her aboard as they returned to the LDS headquarters for debriefing.

* * *

Phantom examined a burned photograph in his hand, turning it over to read a few words written into the back. "It's the job of an entertainer to make people happy." Those words came back to him as he read the letters etched into the back of the paper. "The more a pendulum swings, the stronger it returns. It's the same in dueling."

He replaced the photo inside one of his pants' pockets and lifted his goggles to the top of his head. "Always remember that, even at the worst of times, you can always take a step forward with courage." He always thought of those kind of things when he was feeling down. Most of the time, they were the only thing that kept him going.

Standing up from the white park bench he'd previously occupied, he scratched at his head to clear his thoughts. There was no use being sad about what had happened the night before, especially when he could always find a way to fix it later. He'd be lying if he didn't say the wonderful view of the city from this elevated position didn't help lift his mood, everything big and gleaming and exciting from this far off.

Not far off, a level lower into the park, someone's voice caught his attention. "Watch and be amazed at the power of Solid Vision!" The speaker said, drawing Phantom closer towards a small crowd of less than half a dozen people. They all seemed to be gathered around a pink-haired girl in a red sweater with a duel disk on her arm, presumably the one who'd spoken before.

He didn't have time for a distraction like this. Right now, the only thing he should be focused on was retrieving that box. Despite knowing all of that, he stayed where he was, something inside him telling him to watch this show. Maybe he was just tired after so much fighting, but a live show seemed like it would do him some good right about now.

"Just like the joy of music, the ability to make others smile will never disappear," the girl announced, her duel disk springing to life as she twirled in a circle to make the white skirt on her lower half spin. "Old or new, there will always be ways to do it. That's the magic of Solid Vision at work!" Drawing five cards from her deck, she placed them all onto the field before being engulfed in a burst of pastel colors.

Though the crowd might be small, they became quite a bit more enthusiastic after the smoke cleared. From up in the sky, a delicate melody began to play, the sound of string instruments harmonizing with a collection of feminine voices. Floating down from the clouds were several human-shaped monsters, singing as an enormous red rose descended behind them. It had yet to bloom, concealing whatever was inside.

The monsters danced through the air, tossing flower petals into the small audience as they circled the rose. "These are the guardians of flowers, protectors of the melodious fairy kingdom." These words seemed to echo from somewhere around the area, the voice seeming to belong to the girl from before. It continued as the flower finally began to bloom overhead. "And I am their ally in the fight against the demon king's tyranny!"

It was the girl once again, a layer of Solid Vision covering her clothes to create a new outfit for her. She now wore an entirely red ensemble resembling an old-style French military officer's uniform complete with black boots reaching her knees and a white cape hanging off her shoulder. Across the left side of her vest was a golden rose insignia.

Another monster appeared behind her, this one being a fair bit larger and more elegant-looking than the others. "Mozarta, show everyone your Graceful Wave!" Responding to the command, her monster twirled a conductor's baton in circles, the petals the other creatures had tossed before whipping into a glorious whirlwind. The wind itself appeared as golden silk, picking up the warm-colored petals and tossing them into the sky where they disintegrated into sparkling dust like the trails of tiny comets.

Everyone in attendance, Phantom included, applauded at this. "Amazing." He said to himself with a smile, clapping his hands as loudly as he could in appreciation for this trick. Even with his considerable skill in illusion, that was quite the impressive use of holograms.

Wanting to get a better view for her next trick, Phantom hopped up onto the railing. Unfortunately, he hadn't accounted for the condensation that had collected there, his hand slipping and causing him to fall off the side with a confused yelp.

It was foolish amateur stuff. He should have known better than this. No time to activate his duel disk to save himself. This might really be the end of him this time, and how ridiculous would that be? Risking life and limb every night without a scratch but dying because he fell down in the park like an old man.

The small crowd noticed him shortly after he began falling, their applause stopping abruptly as some of them began to point at him in the sky. The last to notice was the girl herself, looking up confusedly to try and understand what had stolen her spotlight. She barely caught a glimpse of him before they smacked into each other, bumping heads and falling to the ground in an unconscious heap.

Phantom was the first to awaken several minutes later, rubbing his head and trying to remember what had happened. Looking to his side, the girl was still passed out on the ground. The crowd seemed to have dispersed at some point since he was last conscious, none of them seeming too concerned with calling an ambulance or even checking on whether or not they were okay. How rude.

He took it upon himself to make sure she was still breathing, sitting there next to her until she was ready to wake up. He didn't want to risk jostling her around or trying to shake her awake considering all the things he'd heard about how that only resulted in bad things with a head injury. He couldn't exactly call a hospital himself given who he was, so there wasn't much he could do for the time being.

To occupy himself, he looked around the area to admire the greenery. Growing bored with that, he decided to do what he did best and invade someone's privacy; specifically, the girl's. He pulled a large comedy fan from a pocket on her skirt. It wasn't clear whether it was a real object or Solid Vision though his hunch was that it was real given the rest of her holograms had disappeared at some point after they fell. Impressively constructed either way.

"Give that back!" He heard, a hand darting out to grab the fan from him. "Where did you get that? What are you doing here? Who are you?" Between each question, Phantom experienced the full power of the fan for himself.

"Wait, stop!" He tried desperately to quell her anger, explaining poorly, "I just fell on you and it knocked you out! I didn't mean any harm!"

This did seem to give her pause but only for a moment, the folded paper smacking the side of his face one more time. "You better not have done anything to me while I was unconscious!" She said, standing up and backing away.

"I would never!" He shouted. "I was out too! If anyone did anything to you, it would have been before that." He raised his hands to defend himself from another well-earned smack for that.

With Phantom laying on the ground covered in bruises the girl stowed her fan and began to pace. "This is terrible," she muttered. "All those people saw me fail. I didn't even get to advertise yet."

"Hey, at least you were entertaining." Phantom spoke, trying to recover from the brutal assault.

"What good is that if I can't get anyone to sign up?" She shot back, sighing immediately after. "Why am I even talking to you? You're the reason this all fell apart."

Phantom scratched the back of his head. "Sorry," he muttered. "I didn't mean to."

"Forget it," she told him. "What's done is done. I just need to figure out how to fix this."

"What did you mean about signing up and advertising?" He asked. "I like signing up for things."

This caught her attention. Looking him up and down, she cautiously explained, "My family's dueling school. It's called You Show. We don't have a lot of students so I've been trying to get more people to join us."

"You Show." He repeated, the name sticking in his mind.

"Right," she confirmed. "If you've heard of it, it's because it was founded by Yusho Sakaki, the man who created Action Duels."

"Can I go see him now?" He asked abruptly.

She blinked a few times before replying. "Well, no. He's disappeared, didn't you know? He doesn't actually work there anymore. It's just my dad and I."

"Oh," he replied, voice dropping. "I see."

"Like I was saying," she added to try and move the conversation forward, "it looks like you might be a duelist, so..."

"So you want me to join?" He asked cheerfully. "If so, then sure!"

"Really? Just like that?"

"Why not?" He shrugged. "It sounds like it might be fun. And if that Yusho guy ever comes back, I'll be the first to meet him." He couldn't quite place why, but he knew he had to find this man. Even just the name felt as if it was drawing him closer.

Reaching into her pocket, the girl pulled out a handmade pamphlet describing the school and all its features, handing it to him. "Then I guess I'll be seeing you in class. Oh, and my name is Yuzu. Yuzu Hiiragi."

"It's nice to meet you, Yuzu," he replied while taking the paper. "You can just call me Yuya."

"I have to go now." She told him. "There's something I have to take care of. Come by the school tomorrow at noon and I can help you sign up."

"See you at school!" He called as she ran off, the two waving to each other.

* * *

_**(LDS School)**_

Masumi's work was never easy. Only sixteen years old and already she was running across rooftops fighting terrorists to protect the city she called home. Despite this and the many warnings from friends and parents, she did what she had to do in these dangerous times.

While the uninitiated might mock someone so young being the right hand of LDS' CEO, she had no time to listen to their ignorance. If anything, it only pushed her to improve even further, the satisfaction of proving them all wrong being a nice bonus on top of everything else. Like her father always said, "Those who only see the sparkling of a diamond don't understand how easy it is to break."

She approached the main door to the president's room within the LDS tower. A pair of guards in dark suits flanked either side, ready and willing to stop anyone who tried to come inside without permission. Of course, she was one of the lucky few who could come and go mostly as she pleased and was allowed to pass without issue. The only security protocol she was forced to follow was an eye scan on the side of the door frame that unlocked it for her.

"Confirmed: Masumi Kotsu." The door opened itself then, the two panels sliding apart to allow her entry. Walking down a pitch-dark corridor, she finally came upon Reiji Akaba's office, light streaming in from the floor-length windows that allowed him to watch over the city.

The office itself was well-furnished, intricate bookshelves lined with all sorts of textbooks and non-fiction covering two walls worth of space. Though she'd never actually seen him read any of them, Masumi always got the impression they weren't simply a status symbol. Near the back of the room was the president's desk lined with computer screens and papers, a notable lack of anything familial or sentimental there or anywhere else in the room.

And behind all that was a blue swivel chair in which her boss surely occupied (turned around for dramatic effect, naturally). "If they're prepared for war, then it's our job to be ready to meet them," he said. Not to Masumi as he didn't seem to have acknowledge her presence yet but to someone in a call most likely. "The box seems to be the key. Continue as planned for now and-"

He stopped himself abruptly, swinging around in the chair to face his subordinate. "You're on time," he said curtly. "And I see you delivered the box as ordered."

"Of course," she replied, bowing to him. "All that's left now is the decoy. If this goes well, we'll have captured the first member of the Clan and Phantom in one action."

"I'm aware," Reiji said, Masumi flinching at the realization she'd just been stating the obvious to him. It was his plan, after all.

Clearing her throat, she added, "I'd also like to improve security. Just in case something goes wrong. We can't be too careful at this point."

"You don't believe LDS' security is sufficient?" He asked, face remaining stoic.

"I only believe that it's important to plan for even the most unlikely of outcomes." She said.

"Understood." Without so much as a gesture, images of both Phantom and the woman he was with prior flashed in front of Masumi in the air. "I'd like you to give me your assessment of these two now that you've seen them in person."

Placing a hand to her chin, Masumi considered the question while thinking back to their brief encounter. "The woman – the Clan member – I can't say much on. I only saw her from afar and she escaped before I could pursue. From what I can tell, she seems to have a flair for the dramatic. Like I've said before, it's not a good idea to trust someone you can't read, so I would consider her a major threat."

Despite the confidence with which she said all of this, Reiji noted a slight hint of insecurity in her tone. It was something she would do whenever she couldn't successfully read a person's personality, a habit he had yet to break her out of. "Would you be able to beat her?" He asked abruptly.

Masumi smiled, flipping her hair over her shoulder with her hand. "I'm always prepared to deal with an opponent."

"Correct," Reiji told her. "And the other?"

"Phantom is another story," she began. "He was easy to read. He's a fool. That's how he wants us to perceive him, at least. In truth, there's more depth to him than meets the eye. I believe he knows something of importance. Because of that, I'd consider him more dangerous than any member of the Clan we've encountered so far."

The president adjusted his glasses at the bridge of his nose – something Masumi had noted as an indication that his interest had been piqued. "If you're correct, he may make a good candidate for our experiment." Another image appeared before Masumi to replace the two from before, Reiji's composure seeming to break just slightly. "That being said, our priority is to ensure that she gets the box. This is the best plan we have at the moment. You'll be in charge of protecting her at all costs."

Masumi took in every detail of the picture she could. It almost seemed like a cruel joke on the part of the president given her history with the person in question, but she knew he wasn't one for jokes. This was strictly business. "Sir." she repeated, repressing the things she felt to prepare for what was to come.

* * *

_**(Miami City Stadium)**_

Yuzu's journey to the stadium was a grueling one. Maiami City never looked bigger than when you were on the inside of a slow bus making the roughly two hour trip through what she assumed was the least direct route possible to get where she needed to go. Fortunately, that was all behind her now.

Catching her breathe after the run over from the bus stop, she looked up at the towering building. The faint sound of the crowd was audible even from here. "I made it," she said, feeling the excitement of the spectators begin to take hold.

In truth, this was one of the only things about this whole ordeal she was actually enjoying. She took no pleasure in being at this place given that it was owned by LDS. That place had been stealing their potential students for years and threatening to run them out of business at every turn. If not for new and improved Solid Vision system they were offering You Show in exchange for her participation in this demonstration, she'd never even set foot inside the place.

Still, the idea that she might be able to advertise for the school on the enemy's home turf was a bit amusing. They were obviously underestimating her and probably expected her opponent to make short work of her, but she'd show them. Everyone's hopes were riding on her. She couldn't afford to let them down now.

Inside, things were several magnitudes more electric than Yuzu could have imagined. The stands overflowed with people ready to see the debut of the newest Solid Vision technology. It was even seeming like a challenge just to get them to wait the last bit longer before things started no matter how many fireworks and bright lights they used as a distraction.

A group of reporters buzzed around Reiji Akaba as he headed in through the back of the stadium, Masumi in tow as his bodyguard. As usual, the media did their best to try and find anything they could latch onto to make a story.

"Mr. Akaba, anything you can tell us about the presentation before it goes live?" one shouted.

"What about the rumors you're having an affair with your assistant?" a tabloid writer asked.

"Is LDS connected to the Phantom who's been lurking around the city?" another said.

Naturally, he didn't respond to any of this. There was no point in denying any of this as it would only be a waste of time. Rumors and gossip would persist long after they were debunked. He had more important things to do at the moment, exiting through a door with Masumi as a pair of security guards blocked the media staff from following any further.

Yuzu was watching this all go down from a sign-in desk several feet away, filling out various forms to ensure she could take part in the presentation. Liability waivers, permissions, and all that kind of boring stuff. She rolled her eyes at the sight of so many people following the LDS president around like that, their desperation at begging for scraps like dogs irritating her.

In truth, her ire was mostly directed at LDS itself. Envy and general dislike melded together, cursing that they were allowed such high status in comparison to everyone else. They were able to monopolize dueling in the city thanks to their seemingly endless supplies of money and resources forcing everyone out of the scene. The few holdouts were always hurting but did anyone care? Of course not.

Finishing her sign in, she felt someone grab her hand. Whirling around, Yuzu was face to face with some lady she'd never met before. Immediately twisting free of her grip, she recoiled and demanded, "Who are you?"

She was a timid-looking blonde dressed in a formal, conservative gray pantsuit. "Sorry, I didn't mean to bother you," she spoke, her shy tone being a complete mismatch with her bold means of greeting Yuzu previously. "My name is Gotene Mizuno and I'm a reporter with the Maiami Recorder newspaper. I'm interviewing duelists about their thoughts on the upcoming tournament with all of this new technology just on the horizon, so I was wondering if I could get a statement from you."

Relaxing a bit, Yuzu smiled cheerily at the reporter. So she wasn't just some creepy stranger after all. "Sure," she replied, happy that the media was paying attention to her and giving her the chance to shill to her heart's content. "I'm Yuzu Hiragi of You Show Duel School. The name is in English, so remember to write it down properly."

The two began an interview after that, completely unaware they were being watched from overhead. Peeking through a gap in the ducts overhead, Phantom made a note of the fact the girl he'd met before also happened to be here with him. Small world, he thought to himself.

He couldn't really be worried about her right now, though. His mission was to get the box back and uncover its secrets at any cost. His carelessness cost him before so he couldn't afford another mistake or oversight this time around.

That said, he did have the forethought to place a small transmitter on the box before losing hold of it. From the looks of things on his duel disk's screen, even the all-powerful Reiji Akaba hadn't noticed that detail. Given that the Clan was certainly here and ready to occupy his attention at the most inopportune time they could find, it would be a cinch for him to swoop in and retrieve it while those two fought among themselves.

Of course, this was all within the parameters of Reiji's plan. He was already more than aware that Phantom was tracking the box from the moment it fell into his hands. He even knew where he was at this moment thanks to the comprehensive security and monitoring system at the stadium, every square inch of the facility monitored at all times by a room full of professionals. Even a fly couldn't get in or out without someone making a note of it.

He looked over the various screens from a platform standing near the back of a darkened room, Masumi to his side as always. Overseeing his security staff, he took mental note of everything currently happening as showtime neared. The margin for error was slim, but he hadn't planned on there being any errors to begin with.

Turning his head to glance at Masumi, he gave her her orders. "Phantom is already here. He's tracking the box which means he'll be coming right to me. I can expect the Clan is going to do the same. For that reason, I'll need you to transport its contents like this."

Without even the slightest shift in his stoic expression, he held out a colorful bouquet of flowers to her. Where he'd had them stashed was anyone's guess, but Masumi wasn't about to question that or why she now had to deliver flowers. Likewise, she had to trust that leading their enemies directly to him while she wasn't there to act as his guard would go as planned no matter how unsure she felt.

Completely unaware of any of the behind the scenes scheming, Yuzu had concluded her brief interview and currently occupied a plush red chair in a moderately-sized waiting room. Despite the refreshments on offer and the conversations being had among the people inside, she was mostly concerned with the reporter and what she might end up writing. Had she been too focused on promoting the school? Mizuno seeming fairly desperate to get out of there near the end.

Worrying about that before things kicked off wouldn't do her any good. Whatever happened would happen whether she stressed on it or not. She decided to distract herself however she could, nerves beginning to catch up to her as the reality that she'd be the first out there finally setting in.

Scanning the room to try and occupy her mind with whatever she could, she recognized many of the other people there; all of them were duelists from other schools. Obviously, she could see the PR move here for what it was. LDS had invited all of their competitors here out of the goodness of their heart, they'd say, wishing to share their new developments with as many people as possible. In reality, it was more of a statement on their complete control of the market and mostly just a way to lord over the rest of them by giving them a taste of the latest and greatest before yanking it away.

Being bitter didn't really help the time pass, the clock giving her at least another twenty minutes before it was time for her to take the stage. Not feeling sociable enough to make small talk and too nervous to play some kind of phone game, she did her best to sit there patiently and go over her routine in her head. Though she'd practiced it every day for the month leading up to all of this to ensure she already knew every facet of it forwards and backwards, it was all she could think to do to use her time wisely.

Things suddenly got much worse after that. Through the door to the waiting room walked, of all people, Masumi. She was flanked by a pair of bodyguards as if she was important enough to warrant that much caution. Well, maybe she was at this point. She had no real way of knowing after they cut ties. Regardless, she didn't much care to be in the same room as her and couldn't help but hope she'd leave quickly.

Crossing her arms, Yuzu tried to keep her composure and looked off at a nearby wall. She'd just ignore her, simple as that. It's not like she was there for her or anything. With the tangled web of betrayal that was their relationship to each other, she couldn't imagine Masumi was any more eager to strike up a conversation than she was. Whatever official nonsense she had to take care of would be over soon and then she'd be out of here.

"Yuzu Hiragi," she heard the girl say. She couldn't help but flinch at the sound of it to her great displeasure. Masumi's tone was nothing but professional, even cold. Completely unlike how she used to be.

Remembering all of that wouldn't do her any good now. "What?" she replied, looking over to her and trying her best to look as irritated as possible.

"As the first duelist to test the new Solid Vision System, I'll be escorting you to the preparation area." Without warning and with clear discomfort bleeding through her forced stoicism, Masumi handed Yuzu the flowers. "Follow me."

She took the flowers, holding them like she'd just been given a piece of roadkill. If there was any upside to this bizarre and completely inappropriate gesture, her anger was at least helping to cancel out her anxiety. "Fine," she replied tersely, standing from the chair. Some private preparation time would probably be a benefit even if the process of getting there was proving to be...annoying.

Masumi led Yuzu from the room, both of the bodyguards following behind the two. The entire walk was uncomfortably silent, a fact one of the men picked up on as he lowered his dark sunglasses enough to glance to his partner, obviously trying to communicate some question as to what kind of history their superior had with this random tester.

Traveling through the empty metal back hallways of the stadium, it didn't take long for them to make it to their destination with no fear of being mobbed by outsiders. The room they came to was a spacious little dressing area, bits of costumes and various props free to use by anyone who occupied it. Directly across from the door they entered through was another, this one leading up and out to the field. Once you went through, there was no going back.

"Use whatever you like," Masumi told her. "You have fifteen minutes to get yourself ready."

Turning to leave, Yuzu stopped her by waving the bouquet around. "Wait, what do you expect me to do with this?" Was it some kind of ugly joke? She'd just been handed these flowers by her without any explanation.

"Mr. Akaba wanted you to have them, not me," she clarified, being careful to emphasize that it wasn't her idea. "Use them however you like." Refusing to speak any more, she and the men exited back into the hallway.

Now alone, Yuzu tossed the flowers onto a small table in front of a mirror. Sitting down in a black makeup chair nearby, she looked over her reflection to make sure she didn't have anything hanging out of her nose. After a fair bit of checking for that and any other imperfections in her appearance, she concluded things were fine as they were.

Though the prospect of using the things in the room was tempting, she didn't want to deviate from her routine as planned. Adding new things would just introduce new things to account for. Doing that this late in the game could only spell disaster.

"Mr. Akaba wanted you to have them, not me," she clarified, being careful to emphasize that it wasn't her idea. "Use them however you like." She was poised to leave but hung back for a moment more. "I expect you to win," she said suddenly. "As my rival, I'd hate for you to disappoint me."

Yuzu narrowed her eyes, clicking her tongue at the presumption. "And as my ex, I really couldn't care less if I disappoint you or not." Conversation clearly over, Masumi and the two men finally left, Yuzu muttering a quiet, "Traitor," under her breath. She hated the kind of volatile emotions this encounter was pulling out of her.

Her opponent was set to be Strong Ishijima. As the name implied, he wasn't any kind of pushover. She had no plans to lose, however. She was confident in her skills and wouldn't allow anyone to stand in the way of her dreams. Not Ishijima, not LDS, and not Masumi.

Eyes glancing back to the flowers, she picked them up once again to give them a more thorough examination. Her dismissal earlier kept her from really appreciating the fact that they were genuinely very pretty. Lots of reds and pinks with interesting shapes to them all, though she didn't exactly know the names of any of the species that well.

She did believe she could identify the one in the center at the very least. It looked to be some kind of lily. Still, that was barely a conjecture given it didn't appear like any lily she'd seen before. It almost didn't look real, being a shimmering, almost gem-like pink with curled petals.

Pulling out from the bunch, she decided to tuck it into a breast pocket on the left side of her sweater. It couldn't hurt to add that much to her outfit. A little extra flair was always nice. Give that roaring crowd out there something to latch onto in all the chaos of an Action Duel. That was enough of a justification to allow herself to simply enjoy having a nice accessory.

On the other side of the stadium in a room not unlike the one Yuzu currently occupied, the towering Strong Ishijima fell to his knees. Buzzing electricity coursed through him with enough voltage to knock even him unconscious. It was safe to say he wouldn't be able to participate in his scheduled duel.

Behind him was a woman holding the taser that had done the deed. Of all people, it was the reporter Mizuno. Her timid attitude from before seeming to have completely evaporated, she smiled at her own work before slipping the weapon up into her sleeve. Taking a phone from her pocket, she called someone and spoke, "It's done. We can start the plan now."

All hell broke loose moments after that. Reiji's control room was the most evidence of this, all the monitors shutting off at once as all exits sealed themselves automatically. It took several moments for any of the LDS technicians to even register what had happened given their shock, one finally speaking, "Sir, we've lost all contact with outside!"

This wasn't entirely unexpected. "Stay calm," Reiji ordered his employees, using his own composure to inspire confidence in them. "We're still in control here."

As if to contradict his statement, the screens sprung to life once again. They were no longer showing any camera feeds of diagnostic updates but the image of a person in a white hooded robe, face and voice distorted to fully obscure any signs of an identity. "Do not be alarmed," the figure spoke. "The only ones seeing this are those in the control room, Mr. Akaba. The public has no idea of your incompetence yet."

The terrorist continued, pointing an accusing finger at Reiji. "You've stolen the power to change the world and you must now pay the price. You'll reap what you've sown just like all sinners." Various screens changed once more to show different remote parts of the stadium, a few robed individuals placing bombs at these points.

Reiji adjusted his glasses at this, lenses flashing as they reflected the light. "Don't try to threaten me with something this mundane. We're all aware that mass destruction isn't your goal. You've managed to infiltrate my system, meaning you also know where it is right now." Narrowing his eyes, he added, "Which means your only option now is to beat her and take it, a task you'll find yourself unable to accomplish."

The figured laughed at this. "It seems you don't understand. To be expected from some child who inherited his company. No single human can stand in our way. Whether it be you or your agent, none can fight against our power."

"Regardless of whatever power you believe you posses," he countered, "I won't allow all I've worked for to be destroyed by someone as lowly as you." The figure laughed in response, the screens going dark a moment later.

"Begin reestablishing our connection to the cameras," he ordered his staff, already turning to advance up a set of stairs leading to a private room within the area. "Masumi," he said into an earpiece disconnected from the central LDS network for times just like this. "They're on the move. I want each of them out of my stadium at once."

He didn't need to wait for her response, knowing she'd follow his orders to the letter as always. Entering an enclosed office at the end of the stairway, he locked the door behind him. Until he was allowed a way out of here, he couldn't directly affect anything going on in the rest of the stadium.

That didn't mean he'd simply sit there passively and wait for others to do the work for him, however. "The Clan believes they can defeat me with trivial nonsense and misdirection," he said despite being the only one in the room. "That's obviously not true. Even so, if any part of your mind still remains, I'd appreciate any further insight you could provide. Insurance."

There was no indication as to who he might be talking to. It wasn't Masumi as he'd cut that line before locking the door. None of his other staff was within earshot now. What's more, he seemed to be awaiting a response. Stress hadn't simply driven him mad, either.

Seemingly not hearing what he wanted, Reiji's jaw clenched just a hair. His tone softening, he finally said, "I need your assistance, Adam."

* * *

_**It was a difficult decision to have to restart the original Lost Pendulum, but I had too many problems writing the original history. In addition to the thousands of spelling mistakes I had and my original language is not English, im a disaster in other words. I hope you like this version more.**_

_**Thanks to Anti-Mattering and And then the sky for the help and everything.**_


	2. Chapter 2

_**Chapter 2: Awaken of the King of Justice part 2.**_

Thanks to his strategy of sneaking around in the vents, Yuya was pleasantly unaccounted for by the Clan when they set about invading the stadium. The same couldn't be said for the reverse, the entertainer effortlessly tracking their numbers and movements by connecting to the LDS security system through his duel disk. For now, it looked like his time would be best spent taking care of those bombs they were using to threaten everyone.

As soon as he dropped out from overhead, he found himself spotted. Careless. Still, it wasn't like him to pass up an opportunity to put on a show even if it would be for a weirdo in white. "Finally, an audience!" he said, grabbing a few cards from his pocket.

The Clan member came to a halt in front of Phantom, a menacing smile spreading across his lips. This kid was one of their biggest annoyances. If he took him out here and now, he was sure to gain favor with the people in charge.

"Look who we have here," he said, menacingly cracking his knuckles as he stomped up to Phantom. "Little lost lamb wandering towards the slaughter."

Phantom didn't really have time for all of this but there wasn't much choice in the matter. This guy was already activating his duel disk and preparing for a fight. "It's pretty rude to not at least introduce yourself," he said, his own duel disk springin to life as he jumped backwards to gain some distance. "Well, I guess we're both short on time. There should be plenty of time for introductions after I stop your plans."

"All you need to know is that I'll be your death," the man said, the area transforming around him as rocky terrain overtook the cramped cooridore. Despite still being located inside, the arena's halls transformed in front of both of them into a mountainside.

"I like the view," Phantom said, looking around. "But if you set the field, it's only fair that I get the first turn."

"Do whatever you want," the man scoffed, shouting out a loud, "Action Duel!" after that to begin.

"I'll start the show by bringing Entermate Turntrooper to the stage!" He slapped a card onto his duel disk, a miniature musketeer with a clock motif materializing beside him.

_**Entermate Turntrooper 1200 ATK / 1200 DEF**_

"I'll set four cards after that before ending my turn," he declared, sliding the entirety of his hand into his duel disk. "I hope you can keep up, otherwise this won't be a very entertaining show for the crowd."

This comment fell flat, the Clansman having no sense of humor. "There's no one else here," he argued, taking the claim entirely seriously. "You're acting like I've already bashed your brains in."

"I'm just used to having someone to perform for." He shrugged.

With a grunt, the man drew a card to begin his turn. "You're already familiar with the power we have, aren't you? I've made this Action Field all on my own." He raised a hand, clenching his fist. "I'll be using it to crush you, worm!"

This didn't seem to do much in the way of intimidation as he'd hoped. "No offense," Phantom said while leaning on Turntrooper's shoulder, "but I've dueled a lot of you guys already. You all kind of give me the same speech every time. Could you just duel? Or at least change it up a little with how you explain it?"

He got even angrier at this, gritting his teeth and shouting, "Silence! You should be savoring it since it'll be the last time you ever hear it! Or anything else for that matter!"

Taking a card, he activated a new Field on top of the first. "I activate Dragon Ravine! Now its effect stacks on top of the Action Field's own properties, giving Dragons an extra 500 ATK while also making it easier for me to bring them out!"

"That doesn't seem good," Phantom quipped, crossing his arms and shaking his head. "Not good at all."

"Silence!" The man shouted again. "I activate Dragon Ravine's effect, discarding a card to add a Dragunity monster from my deck to my hand." He tossed one card away, another ejecting itself from his deck for him. "My choice is Dragunity Senate which I'll now summon!"

Flying onto his field was a humanoid bird creature, robes billowing in the wind as it stomped the bottom of its staff against the rocky floor.

_**Dragunity Senate 1800 ATK / 1800 DEF**_

_**Dragunity Senate ATK: 1800 + 500 = 2300**_

"Now the true terror of my monster is revealed! Effect activate!" Senate raised its staff into the air, screeching as a glow overtook it. "Dragunity monsters can call back an ally from the Graveyard as equipment, Senate only needing me to discard another card to make it happen." Tossing another from his hand, he declared, "My choice will be the Tuner Monster, Dragunity Couse!"

"A Tuner," Phantom observed. "It looks like your deck uses Synchro Monsters."

"Don't get ahead of yourself," he scolded him. "My turn has barely even begun. Couse's own effect activates now, allowing me to summon itself if it's equipped to another monster." The purple dragon that had attached itself to the back of Senate leaped off, flying through the air before taking a spot next to it.

_**Dragunity Couse 1000 ATK / 200 DEF**_

_**Dragunity Couse ATK: 1000 + 500 = 1500**_

"Couse also has another effect," he continued. "When used as material for a Synchro Summon, I can treat it as a Level 4 monster. I'm doing that right now!"

He raised a hand to the air. "I tune my Level 4 Dragunity Senate with my Level 4 Tuner Dragunity Couse!" His monsters took flight, Couse transforming into a set of four glowing green rings that Senate centered itself inside. The other Dragunity became transparent, four orbs of light representing its Level shining inside it.

"Spread your wings and crush everything in your path without mercy! Synchro Summon!" A flash of light overtook the field. "Level 8, Dragunity Knight – Barcha!" A bladed, serpentine dragon in green and purple appeared from the light, roaring into the sky and brandishing the blades fused to its flesh.

_**Dragunity Knight – Barcha 2000 ATK / 1200 DEF**_

_**Dragunity Knight – Barcha ATK: 2000 + 500 = 2500**_

"Barcha's summoning allows me to equip as many Dragon Dragunity monsters to it from my Graveyard, increasing its ATK by 300 for each one." This meant Couse and the Dragunity Phalanx discarded earlier for Senate's effect.

_**Dragunity Knight – Barcha ATK: 2500 + 600 = 3100**_

Phantom had to admit that this was a pretty strong play, especially with the sense that it wasn't entirely finished. His smile still shone bright regardless, unfazed by the danger before him.

"Next, I activate Double Summon, giving me a second Normal Summon this turn." Taking another card, he summoned his second monster. "With that, I'll play Dragunity Militum!" Another bird creature came out, this one slashing the air with twin blades as it descended.

_**Dragunity Militum 1700 ATK / 1200 DEF**_

_**Dragunity Militum ATK: 1700 + 500 = 2200**_

"Now Couse activates, summoning itself to my field again!" The armored up dragon detached itself from Barcha, dropping to the field next to it.

_**Dragunity Knight – Barcha ATK: 3100 – 300 = 2800**_

"I tune my Level 4 Dragunity Militum with my Level 2 Tuner Dragunity Couse." The process repeated again, the man shouting, "Synchro Summon! Level 6, Dragunity Knight – Harloon!" The new dragon appeared, standing on all fours as it raised its bladed head to the sky to roar along with its larger companion.

_**Dragunity Knight – Harloon 1200 ATK / 1900 DEF**_

_**Dragunity Knight – Harloon ATK: 1200 + 500 = 1700**_

Like the others, it equipped Couse to itself upon summon, Couse then summoning itself back ot the field all over again. "Synchro Summon!" he declared again. "Level 10, Dragunity Knight – Ascalon!"

This gleaming golden beast was the largest yet, its shrill and tinny roar shaking the area around it as it flapped its wings. This appeared to be the end goal of his formation.

_**Dragunity Knight – Ascalon 3300 ATK / 3200 DEF**_

_**Dragunity Knight – Ascalon ATK: 3300 + 500 = 3800**_

"Harloon's effect!" he shouted. "When sent to the Graveyard, I can equip it to another Dragunity monster to raise its ATK by 1000!" Harloon rose from the Graveyard, latching onto Ascalon's back.

_**Dragunity Knight – Ascalon ATK: 3800 + 1000 = 4800**_

"Ascalon's effect activates!" he said, a card ejecting from his duel disk. "By banishing a Dragunity monster from my Graveyard, I can banish a monster you control!" Senate was gone as was Turntrooper, leaving Phantom exposed.

As his opponent made a run for it in search of an Action Card, the Clansman continued his strategy. "I play the card Dragon Mastery from my hand, raising the ATK of all my monsters equipped with Dragunity cards by another 500."

_**Dragunity knight – Barcha ATK: 2800 + 500 = 3300**_

_**Dragunity Knight Ascalon ATK: 4800 + 500 = 5300**_

"Struggling is useless!" he shouted, his monsters following close behind Phantom. Despite the linear nature of the hallway they occupied, any Action Cards had been well-hidden behind Solid Vision rocks and fixtures to make the search more of a challenge. Luckily, he spotted one not far off.

"Finish this, my monsters!" Barcha and Ascalon roared in unison. "Battle! Ascalon, direct attack!"

Diving to grab what he'd spotted, Phantom did a roll along the ground and prepared to play his new card. At least, he would have if it existed. It wasn't like him to miss something so basic. Where could it have gone? He was sure it was right there in front of him.

Phantom turned on his heels to face the oncoming assault, Ascalon charging a beam of golden energy in its mouth before unleashing it in a stream across the ground. It hit its mark with a massive explosion, the conjured rocks that made up the field cracking and flying in all directions from the force of the blast.

"Too easy!" The man scoffed. Just as he was about to celebrate his victory of his weak and pathetic enemy, he heard a voice.

"Sorry," it said, "but the show's not over yet." The dust cleared in an instant, Phantom standing completely unharmed as a glowing barrier protected him. "My Trap, Entermate Call, negates a direct attack against me. It also lets me take two Entermates from my deck with DEF is less than your monster's ATK." With a grin, he snapped his fingers. "Too bad you went all in with your strongest card first."

The man grit his teeth as Phantom added a pair of cards to his hand, completely making a fool of him and his hoped for perfect victory. "No matter, I still have Barcha! Direct attack!"

As a spire of flames shot towards him, Phantom pressed the screen on his duel disk once more. "Sorry, I won't let that happen!" he said. "Trap activate, Entermate Pinch Helper! This allows me to negate your direct attack and summon another of my players from the deck!"

"Time to pull a rabbit out of my hat. Or, well, a snake. Come to think of it, I don't even own a hat. Ah, but whatever. Come out, Entermate Whip Viper!" A cheery purple snake summoned itself from Phantom's deck, tipping its festive top hat to the enemy as it appeared on the field.

_**Entermate Whip Viper 1700 ATK / 900 DEF**_

"There's a lot more to duels than just having the strongest attacks, you know." The furious expression his opponent made gave him a chuckle. "It was pretty careless of you to play only offensively like that. Maybe you would have had some luck if you paid attention to my field."

Phantom returned to searching for an Action Card as he waited for his turn, his opponent beginning to laugh. "You fool," he said. "This field grants me the ability to add Action Cards to my hand without looking for them. You'll never find even one!" Just as he said, a new card appeared right in his hand.

"That's cheating!" Phantom shouted, his smile turning to a deep frown at this unforgivable display of poor sportsmanship.

"All that matters is the result!" He proclaimed. "I'll activate it now! Regroup! This allows my monsters to have a second attack this turn at the cost of slicing their ATK in half!

_**Dragunity Knight – Barcha ATK: 3300 / 2 = 1650**_

_**Dragunity Knight – Ascalon ATK: 5300 / 2 = 2650**_

"Crush him!" He commanded, his monsters charging their attacks once more.

Phantom wagged his finger. "Not this time. I activate the card Super Hippo Carnival! I summon my friend, Entermate Discover Hippo, out of my deck!" A vested pink hippopotamus materialized on the field, standing on its hind legs to tip its hat to the enemy.

_**Entermate Discover Hippo 800 ATK / 800 DEF**_

"Useless, useless, useless!" The man cried. "Destroy those pathetic clowns!" Ascalon fired at Phantom's monsters, another impact seeming to indicate that they struck true.

As always, however, nothing was ever as it appeared. "Discover Hippo didn't come here alone," he explained. "Super Hippo Carnival also lets me summon Hippo Tokens to my field, forcing your attacks towards them for the rest of the turn." A trio of lavishly dressed hippos danced in front of Whip Viper and Discover Hippo, one of them blowing a kiss towards the dragons before dissolving into a shower of light.

_**Hippo Token 0 ATK / 0 DEF**_

"That isn't all," he said to his fuming enemy. "When my monster is destroyed, I can activate Illusion Balloon. This lets me check the top five cards of my deck and summon an Entermate I find there." Dozens of colorfully decorated balloons burst forth out of the card's picture, covering Phantom's field before popping into showers of confetti.

From out of the chaos emerged another monster. "Take the stage, Entermate Lizardraw!" The brightly-colored reptile did a flip, landing on the field with a bow.

_**Entermate Lizardraw 1200 ATK / 600 DEF**_

"Barcha, attack another of those pathetic tokens!" He called, foolishly letting his anger get the better of him. While he certainly did destroy the monster for no real gain, Phantom was more than prepared to capitalize on that loss.

"Lizardraw's effect! When one of my monsters is destroyed, I can draw cards equal to the number of Entermate monsters on my field. That would be Lizardraw, Discover Hippo, and Whip Viper for a total of three." At the beginning of this turn, his hand contained exactly zero cards. Now it was back to five all over again all while four monsters populated his field.

"Turn end," the Clansman said. "Now my monsters' ATK returns to normal."

_**Dragunity Knight – Ascalon ATK: 5300**_

_**Dragunity Knight – Barcha ATK: 3300**_

Phantom smiled, completely unafraid of the hulking monsters staring him down. He already had everything he needed to finish this. "My turn, draw!"

"I activate the Field Magic, Entermate Dramatic Theater!" As he slid the card into his duel disk, the lighting around the area cut out. Moments later, a spotlight shone on Phantom. Spreading his arms wide, he announced, "Ladies and gentlemen! It's time for the final act!"

Audience or not, he was dedicated to making every duel of his a performance if for no other reason than to just maybe reach one of these people he fought against. To show them that their way of dueling through violence wasn't what they were meant to do.

"Hey, Hippo Token!" He called, his monster turning around and pointing at itself. He nodded. "Are you ready? There's a very special role for you here that only you can play."

The hippo laughed, waving a foot at him in a bashful manner. "Oh, come on! I know you can do it! Right, everyone?" Whip Viper, Lizardraw, and Discover Hippo cheered. "I said… right, everyone?" His monsters cheered again even louder, though his real attention was focused on his opponent.

"Stop with this nonsense!" The man shouted. "Just play your cards!"

With a sigh, Phantom shook his head. "You've really got no sense of humor at all." He shrugged. "Fine, then. Action Magic, Slingshot Shot!" He placed the card into his duel disk, a giant wooden slingshot forming on his field.

"What?" The Clansman exclaimed. "You shouldn't have that!"

"Oh? You mean you would have stolen this if you saw me run towards it? I guess it's a good thing you didn't see me, then." It was the balloons that did it, Phantom's entire field being covered by them for several seconds. That was plenty of time for him to snag this card from underneath a rock nearby.

"Slingshot Shot lets me destroy a monster I control in exchange for destroying one of your Magic or Trap Cards. I'm counting on you, Hippo Token!" The monster saluted him, jumping into the end of the slingshot as his other three monsters did the hard work of pulling it back. Stretching it nearly a full yard behind Phantom, they finally let go, the Token sailing through the air and crashing into Dragon Mastery.

_**Dragunity Knight – Ascalon ATK: 5300 – 500 = 4800**_

_**Dragunity Knight – Barcha ATK: 3300 – 500 = 2800**_

"That's pointless!" He shouted. "My monsters are still more powerful than anything you have!"

"You're so quick to jump to conclusions," he scolded. "The show has just begun! I Tribute Entermate Whip Viper and Entermate Discover Hippo to Tribute Summon Entermate Smile Magician!" A tall humanoid appeared to replace Phantom's former monsters, taking a bow as its white cape fluttered behind it.

_**Entermate Smile Magician 2500 ATK / 2000 DEF**_

"When Smile Magician is summoned to my field, I can add a Smile World to my hand." He took the card from his deck before continuing. "It's probably a good time to explain what my Dramatic Theatre does, too. All my monsters gain 200 ATK for every monster Type I control. Smile Magician is a Spellcaster and Lizardraw is a Reptile, making for 400 in total."

_**Entermate Smile Magician ATK: 2500 + 400 = 2900**_

_**Entermate Lizardraw ATK: 1200 + 400 = 1600**_

"Don't get used to that," he added, "since they have a lot more friends to help them." Revealing another card in his hand, he placed it down. "I think I'll take a page out of your book and use my own Double Summon, letting me bring out Entermate Longphone Bull!" The besuited beast gave a snort as it appeared on the field, the old-style phone in place of its horns ringing for a moment.

_**Entermate Longphone Bull 1600 ATK / 1200 DEF**_

"Since I summoned an Entermate, I can also summon Entermate Helpprincess from my hand." He continued. A fourth monster came out then, jumping for joy with its gigantic hand baton clutched against its side.

**_Entermate Helpprincess 1200 ATK / 1200 DEF_**

"The fun has just begun!" He declared. "Now I have four Entermate monsters on my field with different Types and the real ability of Dramatic Theatre can show itself!" The lights went out again, a drumroll signalling that something big was about to hit the field. "Today's main attraction is finally here! Entermate Dramatic Theatre has brought him out all the way from my deck!"

Two lights – one red and one green – appeared in the darkness behind Phantom. "Behold, the rare dragon with different-colored eyes! Come on out, Odd-Eyes Dragon!" With a roar, the star of Yuya's deck emerged in a shower of fireworks matching its colors. The rest of his monsters cheered as it happened.

_**Odd-Eyes Dragon 2500 ATK / 2000 DEF**_

"And don't forget," he said, "that my monsters gain 200 ATK for every different Type I control. With five monsters with five different Types, that's a whole 1000!"

_**Odd-Eyes Dragon ATK: 2500 + 1000 = 3500**_

_**Entermate Smile Magician ATK: 2500 + 1000 = 3500**_

_**Entermate Lizardraw ATK: 1200 + 1000 = 2200**_

_**Entermate Longphone Bull ATK: 1600 + 1000 = 2600**_

_**Entermate Helpprincess ATK: 1200 + 1000 = 2200**_

"Now that everyone's here," he said, "we can finally begin the climax of our show!" Jumping into the air, he landed on Odd-Eyes Dragon's back, the monster rearing back to roar into the sky.

"What good will all of that nonsense do you?" The man questioned." Ascalon is still more powerful than any of those cards! I'll wipe you out next turn without a second thought!" "Maybe, maybe," he said with a nod. "But then again...there's not going to be a next turn." This shocked his opponent, his next move only intensifying that effect. "Now, Smile Magician activates! While his ATK is higher than its original value, I can draw a card for all of my monsters with a higher ATK. Since all five of my cards are affected by Dramatic Theatre, that's five new cards for me!" He wasn't going to let up after that. "Now, I use this! The Magic Card Smile World!" The entire field was overtaken with smiling faces, good vibes and positivity showering the monsters and causing them to dance with joy. "Every monster on the field gains 100 more ATK for each of them.

_**Odd-Eyes Dragon ATK: 3500 + 700 = 4200**_

_**Entermate Smile Magician ATK: 3500 + 700 = 4200**_

_**Entermate Lizardraw ATK: 2200 + 700 = 2900**_

_**Entermate Longphone Bull ATK: 2600 + 700 = 3300**_

_**Entermate Helpprincess ATK: 2200 + 700 = 2900**_

_**Dragunity Knight – Ascalon ATK: 4800 + 700 = 5500**_

_**Dragunity Knight – Bracha ATK: 2800 + 700 = 3500**_

"A pointless card!" He shouted. "All you've done is raise their values! The result is still the same with me being stronger than you!"

"Don't get so hasty," he told him. "Yes, it's true that Ascalon still beats out my cards. It won't matter once I play this!" Another card appeared on the field. "Entertainment Band Hurricane! I can return cards you control to your hand up to the number of Entermate monsters I control."

A whirlwind of music formed, Phalanx, Harloon, Bracha, and Ascalon all being forced out of the field. "And with that, our show comes to a close," Phantom said. "Everyone, let's go!" His monsters went on the attack, all charging forward in a group led by Odd-Eyes.

"I won't let it end this way!" The man growled. Materializing an Action Card in hand, he slammed it into his duel disk. "Action Magic, Hellbent Trap! When you attack, it destroys all your Attack Position monsters and deals you damage equal to their ATK!"

This clearly wasn't a fair card. It seemed like nothing was too low for these people. "I don't think so," Phantom said, Odd-Eyes roaring before launching him forward off its back. "I activate My Body as a Shield! For 1500 Life Points, I can negate a card that would destroy my monsters!"

He did a somersault through the air, the collected blast of energy the Action Card would normally blast his monsters with striking him instead. Gliding through it effortlessly, he landed on one knee and stood back up to point forward.

_**Phantom LP: 4000 – 1500 = 2500**_

"Battle! Spiral Flame Ensemble!" Odd-Eyes Dragon charged a beam of dual-colored fire inside its mouth, launching it at the enemy. Phantom's other monsters contributed their energy to the blast, an orange, yellow, brown, and purple beam joining forces with the red and black one to create a rainbow of colors that smashed into the opponent, consuming his field.

_**Clansman LP: 4000 – 17500= 0**_

Despite the theatrics, very little of the attack actually struck the man. Beyond a bit of blowback, it was effectively just a fun lightshow to cap off Phantom's performance. "Is that all you've got?" He said in defiance despite having conclusively lost the duel.

"There's no need to hurt you," Phantom said. "I've already won. Besides, I have more important things to worry about for now, so no encores." Despite saying this, he still had his reservations about whether or not he could actually disarm the explosives as he planned to do. He wasn't exactly part of the bomb squad. "And don't do anything bad like this again." He added.

The Clansman took this as an insult, spitting onto the floor. "Pathetic. You're nothing but a coward and a trickster. Fighting like this isn't going to get you anywhere. We'll just come back stronger than before."

Phantom chuckled. "Then I'll just beat you again." It wasn't like this was the first time he'd ever heard something like this. It likely wouldn't be the last. While it may be true he didn't believe in violence, that didn't make him any less effective as a duelist. The way he saw things, all he had to do was continue to win to prove his ideals. Maybe one day they might even start to see things his way once they got tired of losing.

"What do you actually get out of all of this?" He asked, never really having the chance to talk to a member of the Clan like this for so long. They usually disappeared after losing but this guy was a glutton for punishment.

"You could never understand our goals," he said haughtily. "I need power to take back what I've lost and I'll do anything to get it. Those people out there mean nothing. If you had even an ounce of sense, you'd feel the same way."

Anything else he might have wanted to say would remain a mystery, the man falling unconscious as a spinning red object clubbed him in the back of the head.

Phantom jumped back in surprise. Was this a new enemy? He watched as the thing continued to spin through the air, eventually circling back and returning to the one who'd thrown it: Reiji Akaba.

"Empty words from a peon," he said, shaking out the scarf and wrapping it back around his neck. "Just a deluded fool taken by their promises."

"You didn't have to do that." Phantom told him, walking forward.

"That man had a knife," he explained, pushing up his glasses. "While you were busy talking, he was about to pull it out. Would you have been able to stop him?" His expression remained stoic as he said these things despite their grizzly nature. "In the end, I was only repaying you for keeping this one's attention. Nothing more."

"Don't mention it." Phantom said with a grin, completely missing that that wasn't a real expression of thanks.

"You're after this, correct?" Reiji said, producing the box and tossing it to Phantom. "More accurately, you wanted its contents."

As Phantom shook it out, he realized he'd been had. "You really shouldn't have taken this," he said. "Everyone's in danger now because of that."

"I can agree that the Clan should have no ownership of what was inside there." He paused, his icy gaze sizing up the vigilante in front of him. "But why should I believe you'd want anything different for it?"

"You already know the answer to that," he said. "Will you tell me where the flower is?"

Reiji scoffed. "At the moment, it should be on the main stage. I've entrusted it to that girl. Based on my theory, she should hold the key to unlocking its potential."

"A girl?" Phantom questioned.

Adjusting his glasses once more, a snide smile moved across Reiji's lips. "It seems you're not as well-informed as you think you are. That naivete reminds me of someone I used to know." He didn't expand on that, choosing instead to follow up on the original question. "Yuzu Hiiragi. Right now, she should be fighting a member of the Clan herself. Before you ask, there's no way for you to stop the duel."

"You're willing to put her and everyone else in danger just to test a theory?" he asked, anger beginning to brew inside of him. "None of this makes any sense."

"Things aren't always as they seem," he said. "You of all people should know that." After another pause, he added, "If you want me to trust you, I expect the same in return. If all goes according to plan, no one will be harmed and we'll have dealt a critical blow to the Clan." Despite his words and the confidence they exuded, Phantom couldn't help but feel like he might secretly regret having to take such drastic action to accomplish all this. "One step closer to my goal."

"And what is that?" Phantom asked as Reiji turned to leave.

"To show my enemies what I'm capable of." He stood there in silence before adding, "Do you still choose to be one of those enemies, Phantom?"

He didn't reply though his answer should be obvious. As much as he hated risking so many people's lives for this plan, he never intended to make an enemy of Reiji or LDS in the first place. "Maybe you should be more focused on finding friends than looking tough to your enemies," he finally said.

Rather than argue back, Reiji only said, "If you hurry, you should make it by the end of the duel. She may need your assistance after that."

* * *

_**(Stadium)**_

"The wait is over, ladies and gentlemen!" A man in a garish yellow suit called from the center of the arena. Fussing with the side of his round glasses to catch the sunlight and cause a flash across his face, Nico Smiley tossed his hand towards the sky to draw attention to the immense screen behind him. "Finally, the debut of LDS' newest and most advanced Solid Vision System is underway!"

Fireworks exploded as the crowd cheered, all sorts of technical drawings and simulations running on the aforementioned screen with the LDS logo proudly displayed in the corner. With Solid Vision being such a massive fixture of the world, it was no surprise that so many people were excited to see just what new leap forward the company had made this time.

A series of lights turned on around the arena, all of them casting a hologram into the center. Materializing up from the bottom, a massive fascimilie of Reiji Akaba towered over the crowd in attendance. Despite the impossible proportions, he still looked real enough to touch.

The shock at such a lifelike Solid Vision construct spread through the arena. Even a dedicated critic like Yuzu found herself stunned at the giant leap forward compared to what had been available just yesterday.

Then it spoke. "You already know who I am," it said, voice a perfect match to the LDS CEO's. "The tireless work of the Akaba family and Yusho Sakaki have evolved the world of Duel Monsters beyond what anyone thought possible. Many even believed it had reached its peak with the creation of Action Duels. Even so, there have always been certain limitations with even the most advanced technology."

The hologram spread its arm out across the field, both to demonstrate the upcoming point as well as to show off the fact that it created a real gust of wind with its movements. "Action Fields, for example. Confined to certain areas, only available within pre-programmed bounds." It clenched its fist. "But no more. Now, all one will need is a duel disk to take that power into their own hands. Completely solid monsters interacting with a field of play as real as any found in nature."

Various monsters appeared at the hologram's feet, the field around changing between numerous different terrains represented by cards from the game. Each and every one appeared just as real as the Reiji hologram no matter how fantastical they looked. "With our new technology, we've evolved the game once again! All this power at your fingertips with less limitations than ever before. Nothing will stand in the way of your battles. You'll see that soon enough during the demonstration."

The hologram vanished after that, the two duelists being given the signal to take the stage. Yuzu was the first out, walking to the field as people cheered (mostly for the new technology and prospect of a duel rather than her as a person).

"Our first competitor is Miss Yuzu Hiragi of You Show Duel School," Nico Smiley announced, pausing for a moment to check his notes after saying such. That name was familiar to him and many others though couldn't quite place why. "Er, yes. That You Show Duel School, everyone! The one founded by none other than Yushou Sakaki himself!"

Several people gasped at the clarification, most not even realizing that Yushou Sakaki had even started a school, let alone still had it. The specifics of his life were always somewhat vague, that vagueness growing after his disappearance six years ago. Outside of his position as a creator of Action Duels, most of his history had been forgotten over time.

Grabbing the microphone for him, Yuzu set the record straight. "Yes, that's right. Yushou Sakaki founded my school with my father. He might have disappeared but we've never gone away."

Planting her feet firmly and striking a pose befitting of her dueling uniform, she continued. "We've kept the school and the values it represents alive ever since." Her duel disk activated as she placed cards onto it, then jumped into the air. Carried upwards by a sudden blast of air, she twirl about in a flurry of flower petals.

The wind died down, causing her to plumet towards the ground. Arms outstretched, she was caught without issue by two of her fairies, gently lowering her the rest of the way unharmed. "I am Yuzu Hiragi, daughter of Shuzo Hiragi and representative of You Show Duel School," she proclaimed.

Her monsters bowed as they disappeared. "But when I take to the Action Field, there's another name I go by." Despite how hard her heart was pounding, she couldn't help but think to herself how well this performance was going. From even a short glance around the arena, she could tell the crowd was completely enraptured by her. "When I duel, I duel as Juno, the angelic hero and protector of the weak!"

She took a bow, handing the microphone back. Clapping along with the audience, Nico Smiley took back control of the scene. "Well, that was certainly an introduction, Miss Juno." He nodded a few times, snapping his fingers and pointing to the opposite end of the field. "But how will you stand up against your opponent? The one...the only...Strong Ishijima!"

Several seconds worth of nothing passed, the duelist nowhere to be found. "Strong Ishijima!" he said again with the same upbeat cadence. Still nothing. "Strong Ishijima!" he tried again, the crowd beginning to murmur among themselves about the star being a no show.

To further the confusion, a completely unrelated person emerged from the other side of the arena. Shew as dressed entirely in black, head covered in a hood and upper portion of her face by a black cloth to make her virtually unidentifiable.

"Who is that?" Nico Smiley muttered to himself before his attention was drawn to the buzzing phone in his pocket. Quickly scanning over a text, he spoke into the microphone, "Well, it seems like there's been a slight change of plans. Strong Ishijima has unfortunately fallen ill. Tragic, I know, but we've got someone almost as good to take his place!"

No one was entirely sure what to make of this situation, least of all Yuzu. She was sure this would mean less attention for the school no matter how good this replacement turned out to be. Dedicated Ishijima fans were probably leaving their seats at that very moment.

This wasn't anything she could control, though. She just had to give it her all same as always and hope for the best. After all, it was an entertainer's job to bring the crowd onto her side even if the show started off on a sour note.

"Hello," Yuzu greeted, hoping to get to know this new opponent before things kicked off. Unfortunately, she didn't get any response. Not a verble one by any measure, the wide and almost threatening smile that formed on the woman's face seeming to say something.

"Prepare yourselves, duelists! The game is about to begin!"

Looks like there wasn't any more time to get acquainted. Just as well, that seemed like a lost cause. She was more concerned with getting the duel underway and showing everyone what she could really do. "Duelists locked in battle! Kicking the earth and dancing in the air alongside their monsters!"

Despite her earlier silence, the woman in black joined in as was customary. "Witness the greatest evolution in dueling!" Though her words should have carried an element of excitement given what they were, there was some kind of underlying sinister feeling to them that put Yuzu on edge.

"Action...duel!" As the intro came to a close, Yuzu felt something come over her. It wasn't fatigue or illness or anything as mundane as that. The best she could do to describe the sensation was to compare it to having stopped. That is to say, she and everything else froze in time in that very instant.

Her deck seemed to shine in that moment of motionlessness. It was her imagination, correct? The same with the flower she'd taken with her, now glowing in the pocket where she'd stored it. All of this had to be some kind of bizarre hallucination.

Then she saw what could only be dubbed a vision. A vision of what she had no clue, everything looking as if she'd put on a pair of dirty, fogged up goggles. She could barely make out the form of what she assumed to be another person floating in front of her.

The vision spoke. "Use my power," it told her, the voice sounding equally familiar and unfamiliar all at once. "Make the pendulum swing in your favor. Create the world anew in the light of hope."

Yuzu had no idea what this was supposed to mean. Trying to ask for clarification or make any kind of comment proved useless, her voice frozen as much as the rest of her. Either way, she wouldn't have had time to do so even if she could, the vision dissipating in shower of light a moment later.

Nothing seemed to change as she found herself thrust back into reality. While she would have loved to talk over this strange stress vision with someone – ideally, a therapist or other qualified professional – she had a duel to win and couldn't be concerning herself with trivial things like that right now. This, however, only brought more confusion and surprise as she finally took in what was happening around her.

This was the largest and most robust Action Field she'd seen in her entire life, that new Solid Vision proving its worth right from the start. It took the form of some castle made entirely of living, moving shadows. An enormous yellow moon hung low in the sky, casting an eerie light across everything.

"This is the fruits of LDS' labor!" Nico Smiley announced from somewhere off to the side. "The most realistic Action Field to date! Bigger, better, and more life-like than anything to have ever come before!"

He continued, "And that's not all! These new Action Fields take the game to an entirely different level all on their own! For this duel, both players will start with 8000 Life Points instead of the ordinary 4000. They can also hold two Action Cards in their hand at a time for double the excitement!"

He wasn't done, however. "And for the effect of Castle of Nightmares itself, a duelist can only attack their opponent's monster with the highest ATK! The others are allowed to hide in the shadows of this petrifying palace!"

Yuzu had come expecting new rules but having them all set out like this was a different matter entirely. What this all came down to was a longer and more grueling game, the extended Life Points and the limitations on attacking favoring control-based strategies. This was only compounded by the extra Action Card both were allowed to have. Overall, this seemed like a format favoring a more tactical approach to combat.

Not like she was complaining. Her deck was more than ready for something like this. That said, her opponent seemed equally pleased with the idea. "I think I'm a fan of this place," she spoke. "It's bleak, gothic. I feel right at home."

"Don't think that gives you the advantage," Yuzu replied, hoping to start some kind of raport now that the other duelist seemed to be opening up a bit.

With a small chuckle, she threw off the outer layer of clothing to reveal herself. This wasn't some ordinary duelist from LDS or another school but the criminal Dark Diva all along. While hindsight would probably tell people that wasn't much of a surprise, it was still more than a shock for those in attendance.

"Home or not, I'll gladly finish you here," she said, drawing a hand of five cards to take the first turn. With a mocking smile, she added, "Try to give me some sort of challenge. I'm not supposed to win too quickly."

"Someone like you could never beat me," she said in defiance. "Self-serving evil always loses against justice." As much as she was playing her role, she also meant these words with sincerity. For whatever reason, this duel hadn't stopped yet. That seemed to mean it was up to her to take this woman down.

There was just one problem – everything. The first thing she noticed was her duel disk, specifically the blade portion. Instead of the normal pink, it had changed to a vibrant crimson. Odd enough on its own, but a strand of hair falling in front of her face showed her the second thing; her hair was now that same color. Did this have something to do with the new Solid Vision? That vision from earlier?

Third and by far most importantly, however, were the cards she'd drawn for her hand. "Wait, what is..." Somehow and without her realizing, all of the cards in her deck had been changed out. She'd never seen any of these before in her life. Just what was going on here?

* * *

_**Oc card: **_

_**Regroup: Allows monsters in your field to have a second attack this turn at the cost of slicing their ATK in half!, but you cannot attack next turn.'**_

* * *

_**Yuya:** _"Oh no Yuzu is in trouble."

_**Yuzu:**_ "What did this flower do with my hair and now my deck is different, I have never dyed my hair in my life."

_**Masumi:** _"Yuzu stops wasting time, concentrating on the duel. Besides, I do think it's temporary."

_**Dark Diva:**_ "It doesn't look so bad, you also look divine, dear Juno."

_**Reiji:** _"The chapter ends and all of you are wasting your time, Yuya presents the title of the next chapter."

**_Yuya:_ **"Ughhh, okay, Next time on Yugioh Arc-V: Lost pendulum-" The rebirth of the King of the Pendulum. "

_**Yuzu:**_ "Wait, is that a giant robot? !"

* * *

**_Special thanks to Anti-Mattering to write Yuya duel and And The Sky for grammar._**


	3. Chapter 3

**_Chapter 3: Awaken of the King of Justice part 3._**

There was no clear answer about what had just happened to Yuzu. One minute she was fine, the next everything had changed. That light had transformed the cards in her deck into something totally unlike what she'd taken to the arena today. How was she supposed to compete like this, especially with who she was going up against now?

Her opponent noticed her confusion, scoffing at her bewildered expression. "Afraid? Where's all that confidence from before?"

Despite her taunts, Yuzu gave no reaction. "Mocking your opponents doesn't do anything to prove your skills," she said. "Talk like that after you've won, but until that point you're just being rude."

"Settle down," she sneered, waving a hand at Yuzu. "Can't you take a joke? Do you even know what one is? I thought you were a performer." Jumping up onto a platform made of shadows, Dark Diva started her turn to begin the duel. "We've kept them waiting long enough."

She didn't look to be pulling any punches even from the start given the card she revealed next. "I'll start with this card, Fusion!"

The crowd's excitement at seeing the card was matched only by Yuzu's own apprehension. "But only LDS is supposed to be able to Fusion Summon. How can you use a card like that?"

"Everyone has their secrets," she said, taking a superior tone. Sliding the card into her duel disk, she revealed another two cards to use as material. "I fuse Deus Ex Scathach and Deus Ex Zorro to create a new monster."

Both monsters appeared in shadow only briefly before transforming into red and blue energy, swirling into a vortex behind their owner. "Recreate the visage of an angel as you take to the stage! Fusion Summon! Com forth, Level 4. Deus Ex Dominion!"

Emerging from the vortex was a gleaming golden angel, dark hair flowing from its head as silver armor and sword shone in the light from the dark sun overhead.

_**Deus Ex Dominion ATK / DEF: 1500/0**_

"I will use my normal summon to summon Deus Ex Orpheus to the field." A strange puppet appears in the field of the Diva. "The effect of Orpehus allows me to bring his friend Zorro from the cemetery." A very strong swordsman dressed in a black suit and with a hat appears in the field.

_**Deus Ex Fox ATK / DEF: 1400/1000 = ATK = 1900.**_

_** Deux Ex Orpheus ATK / DEF: 1300/1000 = ATK = 1800**_.

"I finish my turn, it's your turn, Princess Juno, kukuku." She laughed and then, like Yuzu, she started running across the field. Her goal was to look for an action card.

With a few jumps, Yuzu was able to reach one of the Action Cards that was on a balcony. Although it was difficult, because of how narrow it was to walk through the huge castle, she smiled, it was necessary in case her opponent's monsters had more effects.

She put her hand on her deck, she drew the card from her deck and addressed her audience. "I'm sorry for taking so long, but now I have what it takes to start the duel."

The audience applauded, anticipation of what she had prepared growing. The announcer joining them. "Apparently the young duelist will now show us her full potential, but will she be there for the legacy of Sakaki Yushou?"

"I will activate the Trade-in magic card! By discarding my level 8 Mozarta, I can draw two cards from my deck." Apparently the Ace monster of Juno, like the other cards, also changed.

She looked at the new cards she had taken. They seemed so complex to use, but at least the effects were understandable at least. The question now was, would she have the skills to execute it well enough to win, since she had no real idea how to play with them.

"I will activate the Magic Card Angel Reinforcement, if I don't have monsters on the field, I can pay 2000 Life points and summon a Majestic Knight monster from my deck in defense mode, I summon Majestic Knight: Harmonious Nympha in defense mode." A torrent of water appears behind her. Within this, a maiden with a blue armor broke through, carrying a trident in her hands.

_**Yuzu LP: 8000-2000 = 6000 **_

_**Majestic Knight Harmonious Nympha ATK / DEF: 1200/1000 **_

There was lot of murmuring in the audience immediately, some disapproving, while others praised the design, perhaps due to its beautiful design, which many girls in the public loved or perhaps how it materialized. Anyway, the duelist was winning them, she was relieved at least with that.

"Don't worry audience, because she will bring one of her friends. I activate Nympha's effect that allows me to bring another "Majestic Knight" once per turn but I must not have another card on the field. I summon Majestic Knight Loyal Steed to the field." The maiden joined her hands and with one of her majestic songs she opened a portal, cavalry with golden armor appeared on the field, gallops next to the Nympha and the duelist.

_**Majestic Knight Loyal Steed ATK / DEF: 1300/1300 **_

"Nympha's second effect also gives 200 attack points to each of my Majestic Knight that I control on the field." Nympha began to sing, voice like a wind chime reciting the incomprehensible language monsters seemed to speak at times. Regardless, the meaning of those notes rang true, Loyal Steed empowered by a blue aura as the crowd cheered on.

_**Majestic Knight Loyal Steed ATK: 1300 + 200 = 1500. **_

The horse approached Yuzu, under his head, waiting for something from the duelist. She didn't know what to do at first, she raised her hand with a feeling of interest and began to massage the horse's head, he received it well. "Incredible, this Solid Vision makes the monsters look so real. "

The horse asked her to get on his back and she did, she had already mounted monsters in Solid Vision before but she kept thinking about how incredible it was.

"You're a good boy." She hugged him, starting to rub the horse's hair to congratulate him. "Now let's give the audience more." The steed responded with a shout. "Finally, I summon Majestic Knight: Royal Breaker to the field." A new monster appeared on the field, she was a woman in green clothes who carried a large hammer in her hands.

_**Majestic Knight Royal Breaker ATK / DEF: 1900/1300 **_

_**Majestic Knight Royal Breaker ATK: 1900 + 200 = 2100. **_

"Impressive, you summoned a lot of monsters to your field." The Dark Diva mentioned in a mocking tone, she was back from searching." will they stop my servants?"

"Very good question Diva, but I see that you are too confident, that will not lead you to your victory." The duelist said. "Let's finish our friends debut, start the battle phase!" The loyal horse began to roar. Creating an aura around all Yuzu's monsters. "When the battle phase begins, Steed's effect allows me to increase the attack of all my monsters by 300."

_**Loyal Steed ATK: 1500 + 300 = 1800. **_

_**Royal Breaker ATK: 2100 + 300 = 2400. **_

_**Nympha ATk: 1400 + 300 = 1700. **_

Yuzu rode on Steed, her other monsters following by her side. "Let's do it my servants."

"I'm sorry, Juno. First you will have to defeat my Fox first. " The Diva exclaimed.

Yuzu replied "I know that, but first I will need more help."

Without knowing what the duelist said; the Diva opened her eyes for what was a matter of second smile, excited to know what was the intention of her opponent. The first thing Yuzu did was get up from her horse, leaving the spectators to gasp, the Diva too. "Have you gone crazy?"

Yuzu didn't respond, she merely looked at her monsters beforehand, just nodding to Nympha and Breaker as a kind of code, and as if they had read their thoughts, Yuzu was safely in Royal Breaker's arms.

"The skill of this girl is amazing. But what will be the reason for this? " The MC mentioned to the audience.

"Nympha, I need your water powers, Breaker throw me to that tower." Both monsters accepted, with their great strength, Breaker launched Yuzu with great power.

The audience was open-mouthed. Even the Diva stayed with an open mouth. "What the hell do you think you're doing, Yuzu?"

Yuzu began to lose altitude, but everything went according to plan, the public seemed equally to notice, so she observed. 'Well I'm creating drama, now let's continue.' She told herself.

"It's your turn Nympha!" Nympha joined her hands, began to recite a song, creating a kind of sound wave, which began to generate ice towers in which Yuzu landed safely, now with the other pillars, she arrived at this tower where there was a Action Card.

The audience felt relief when the girl arrived safely. Best of all was that in the position she is in, she has already been able to spot five action cards on the field.

"Incredible!" Some murmurs in the audience sounded. It looked like she already had the audience in her hands, which was important in her first presentation, now, towards victory.

Yuzu looked at the cameras that focused on her and thought about someone. 'I hope you are seeing this, wherever you are, you will see how Dad and I still protect the school. She murmured. "Also you Masumi."

"Ok, let's start Loyal Steed, you start the first attack, attack Zorro!" The horse went straight to the monster, with great speed, activing its horn and readying to ram Zorro.

"Not so fast heroine, I activate the effect of Zorro." She mentioned in her seductive voice. "You have a choice, you discard a card from your hand or suffer half of my monster's attack, so which route will you take?"

"It would be dangerous to let my life points drop, but it would also be worse if I lost a card from my hand. So I choose to suffer that damage!"

A devilish smile grews on the face of the Diva "Why don't you fulfill her wish, Fox?" At the time of giving the order, Zorro disappeared from the side of her owner, to appear a second later behind Yuzu and attack her from behind with her sword.

_**Yuzu LP: 6000-850 = 5150 **_

"Ahhh !" Yuzu shouted in pain at the attack, but at least she was sure that her plan was still underway.

Fox returned to the Diva field. "I have another plan yet, I activate the effect of my Dominion and I can change the position of my Deux Ex monsters that I want." She proclaimed, the knight raising his sword towards Zorro to change it into defence.

"That won't work, because I activate my Action Card, Detour. That allows me to negate the effect of a monster in the field of my opponent and at the same time cause 500 points of damage to it. "

"I see, either way tou would have found a way to get rid of Zorro. I congratulate you." She said applauding the duelist's strategy. As unpleasant as the static felt.

_**Dark Diva LP: 8000-500 = 7500 **_

"Now remove it Loyal Steed !" The attack made a direct hit producing an explosion, the Diva had to cover herself

_**Dark Diva LP: 7500-400 = 7100**_

"Since I inflicted damage on my opponent, Majestic Healing gains a counter and I can earn two hundred life points at the same time."

Majestic Healing: 1 Angel counter.

_**Yuzu LP: 5150 + 200 = 5350. **_

"Now the effect of Steed is activated, letting me excavate the first three cards from the top of my deck and if it's a magic card or trap I can add it to my hand." She watched them and added the only trap that was in the amount, at least this carf would serve for the next turn. "I activate Royal Breaker's effect, when I earn life points, I can select a magic card or trap my opponent controls and destroy it."

The Diva reacted to this. "I activate Reckless Greed and with it I can draw two cards from my deck." She could not prevent the destruction of her card but at least took advantage of activating it before it was destroyed. " The only problem is that I can't draw cards in my next two draw phases."

"Then I continue with my turn, get ready to attack Breaker, attack her Dominion." The woman was ready to strike the blow of glory with her hammer.

"I will activate my Miracle Action card, this prevents the destruction of my monster and at the same time every damage I suffer is limited to half." An energy shield protects Dominion from being destroyed by the hammer.

_**Dark Diva LP: 7100-450 = 6650**_

Majestic Healing: 2 Angel counter.

Yuzu LP: 5350 + 200 = 5550.

It wasn't enough damage. Not nearly what she wanted but it was something at least and at the same time at least it seemed like she would be able to cope with the duel, even if she didn't know this deck.

Breaker and Nympha lowered her to the ground. "Thanks friends." She said "I leave a card face down and end my turn. Due to the effect of Nympha, Loyal Steed returns to my hand."

Royal Breaker ATK: 2100

Nympha ATK: 1400

"Well done, Juno. But I see that you're too ignorant of the situation in general." The Diva mentioned, which intrigued Yuzu.

"Ignorant?"

"No, no, I can't reveal that right now and you won't survive to see it. For now let's continue. "

Her opponent was an enigma, she couldn't even recognize who exactly she was. Maybe she came from some different school? Because she didn't seem to come from the dueling circuit either.

"Since the effect of your Action card is over. I will activate the effect of Dominion, changing the position of your Nympha to attack. It's not only that too, since my monster also causes your monster to lose 500 attack points. " Yuzu bit her lips, already knowing that effect.

_**Nympha ATK: 1400-500 = 900. **_

"And that's not all, I will now preform another fusion but this will be different from any seen before."

"What do you mean? What kind of other fusion?"

"You'll find out now." With her next move she inserted the card into her dueling disk. " I will activate the Magic Card Deus Ex Actor Change ! Yhis is how this card works, I can usually use two materials to summon a fusion monster but..." She smiled with a sinister feeling as she said that last word. "If I have a fusion monster in my field I can use it instead."

The duelist heroine was left with her mouth open and shocked by her opponent's card. "Impossible, just a monster as material."

"Glowing rose of the abyss, resurge between that dark abyss and subjugate those who stand in your way, come forth Level 5, Deus Ex Carmen." A new monster emerged from the vortex, a woman who had a red dress embroidered with roses.

_**Deux Ex: Carmen 2300 ATK / 100 DEF **_

"We now enter the battle phase, first I will attack your Royal Breaker with my Carmen." Carmen threw herself against Breaker, destroying the warrior in an explosion.

_**Yuzu LP: 5550-200 = 5350. **_

"When a Majestic Knight monster is destroyed I can put an Angel Counter in Majestic Recruitment."

_**Majestic Recruitment: 1 Counter.**_

"Carmen's effect is activated! When she destroys a monster in the field, I can summon a Deus Ex monster from the graveyard, I summon Dominion back to the field." The angel returned again, the aura that Dominion produced again effecting the monsters of the Diva.

_**Deux Ex Dominion: ATK: 1500 + 500 = 2000. **_

_**Carmen ATK: 2300 + 500 = 2800. **_

_**Orpheus ATK: 1300 + 500 = 1800 **_

"Remember Carmen can also make a second attack."

"You can attack twice?" Yuzu remarked with fear, she was too late to change anything. Moments later, the monster destroyed Nympha with a single blow.

_**Yuzu LP: 5350-1900 = 3450. **_

_**Majestic Recruitment: 2 Counter. **_

"That's not all, I activate the effect of Deux Ex Actor in my graveyard. I can banish this card from my graveyard to activate its effect. After a Fusion Monster has done damage, I can return it to my extra deck to summon a new Fusion Monster."

When Carmen was returned from her extra deck zone, the Diva took another card and inserted it into her dueling disc. "Reign in chaos, make your victims suffer with your dystopia, come forth Level 8, Deux Ex: Arsene."

_**Deux Ex: Arsene 3000 ATK / 0 DEF **_

"3000 attack points." Yuzu said with eyes wide in fear.

"What's the matter, beautiful hero? Scared by my monster?" The Diva licked her finger while looking at Yuzu with a sinister gaze. She had always enjoyed seeing the suffering of others. "But could you cry when I defeat you? I don't want to ruin the moment." The Diva's spiky hair came out, her opponent already showed herself to act strange but now she really looked like a madwoman.

Yuzu was armed with courage nevertheless. She remembered the location of the nearest Action Card and began to run towards it.

"When Carmen leaves the field, all the Deus Ex monsters get a 800 attack point boost."

_**Arsene ATK: 3000+ 1300 = 4300. **_

_**Orpheus ATK: 1800 + 800 = 2600. **_

_**Dominion ATK: 2000 + 800 = 2800. **_

The Diva grinned sadistically. "Let's do this slowly! You start first, Orpheus." Orpheus took his sword, swiftly heading towards Yuzu. "Kill her!" Orpheus was behind Yuzu and with a single blow struck her back.

_**Yuzu LP: 3450-2600 = 850. **_

The Diva widened her eyes though when she noticed Yuzu smiling. "Why?" Yuzu then showed her the card she took. "Oh no."

"I activate the effect of my Action Card called Damage Draw, if I suffer more than 2000 points of damage from my opponent I can draw two cards from my deck."

The Diva bit her lips, frustrated. "Finish this once and for all Arsene!" The monster spread its wings and flew straight towards Yuzu but an energy shield protected Yuzu alongside a woman in a white dress with a golden staff, the shield lasted until the mystery monster materialized fully on the field.

_**En-Angel White Carnation ATK / DEF: 1200/800 **_

"I activate the effect of En-Angel: White Carnation in my hand, if I am about to receive a direct attack, I can summon it to the field and if I suffered battle damage this turn, that damage is added to my life points."

_**Yuzu LP: 850 + 4300 = 5150. **_

"Unfortunately for you, I can still deal damage. Because it dealt damage, my Arsene can cause 300 points of damage to my opponent by the level or rank of a monster I've destroy this turn."

"Don't!" Yuzu muttered as swords materialized above her that went straight down her back. "Ahhh!" She screamed as she fell to the floor.

**_Yuzu LP: 5150-2100 = 3050. _**

"I leave a card face down and end my turn." A card materialized in the field of Diva.

"I activate my Trap Card Angel Penance, which is activated at the end of the turn when I suffer damage to my life points, I can summon two monsters from my deck with combined attack equal to the damage I suffered in battle, I will summon Majestic Knight Percival The Brave and Flower Magician. "

_**Majestic Knight Percival the Brave ATK / DEF: 1600/1000 **_

_**Majestic Knight Flower Magician ATK / DEF: 1200/0 **_

She didn't have the cards in her hand to beat her opponent. The stadium looked at her in anticipation for her next move, her opponent had too many monsters in her field. The tension that this created made the duelist freeze in fear, time stood around her. It was entirely possible that she would fail, maybe she would never prove that her father's school could still be worth it without Yusho. This could be the end, her head was filled with negative thoughts. Things couldn't end like this.

"Can I tell you something?" The Diva asks her, Yuzu looked at her in fear that she wouldn't be able to give a clear answer. "Give up. When fate is against you and you have no way to stop it, the best thing you can do is just continue with your life. Accept your defeat."

For the first time since the duel began, the Diva spoke without a somber tone in her voice. Rather she seemed to understand what Yuzu was going through for some reason. Maybe she should listen to her, in the end, coming here was a dumb move.

"I'll show you why now! It's true that these monsters aren't enough!" She had two more cards in her hand, equal to those on her field. Her opponent raised her eyebrows. "I set my pendulum scale with the guardians of lost love, Majestic Knight:En-Angel Amaryllis Scale 1 and Majestic Knight: En-Angel Anemone Scale 9!" Two pillars of light appeared on the field. One of them was a woman with yellow skin, her wings had a similar color, but she had a mask on her face this was Anemone. The other had pink skin and pink wings, her name was Amaryllis.

Every screen showed the cards, cards that nobody had ever seen before. Its design didn't seem normal at all, a strange hybrid between a magic card and a monster card.

"Thanks to Anemone being on the pendulum scale, Pendulum Light Monsters receive 200 attack points. Remember Healing on my field as well."

_**Majestic Knight: Flower Magician ATK: 1200 + 400 = 1600 **_

_**Majestic Knight: Percival the Brave ATK: 1600 + 400 = 2100. **_

"Those monsters also became pendulum cards?" Asked the Diva, surprised.

"Apparently, Yuzu has summoned a new type of monster!" Nico Smiley says exclaimed, also having no idea about this new type of card. "Maybe she planned this move all along!"

Was this the new power that Akatsuki spoke to me about? The Diva thought immediately, but she wasn't afraid. She still had the advantage.

"Before using these cards, I activate Majestic Recruitment's effect! By removing two counters from this card I can summon a level 3 or lower monster to my field from my deck. I will summon En-Angel Gladiolus." A red-haired girl with red wings while holding a bow and arrow in her hands descended to the field.

_**EN-Angel Gladiolus ATK / DEF: 600/500 = 800 ATK. **_

"Now I will Pendulum Summon from my hand using my monsters on my pendulum scale." A portal opened in the sky itself. "The doors of the dimensions will open again." Yuzu Said."The power in the bond between the separate lovers." A huge pendulum swung between the two monsters on the pendulum scale. "Loyal Steed comes to the field first." Yuzu's horse materialized on the field.

"The same monster?" The Diva asked.

"A hero King." The last statement left everyone disoriented in the stadium. "Heavenly Guardian, protector of the helpless and the one protector of harmony, come forth! Level 7, Grand Knight Pendulum King of Justice! " The pendulum stopped at the exact moment in the center of the sky, the color changing to red. Out of the portal came a huge knight came with red armor, it also had some green wings materialize behind it, creating numerous feathers flying out in the field.

_**Majestic Knight Pendulum King of Justice ATK / DEF: 2500/2000 **_

_**Majestic Knight Pendulum King Of Justice ATK: 2500 + 400 = 2900 **_

Reiji smirked when spying at Yuzu's monster through his screen. When he saw that card he raised his hand and closed his palm to the screen. "I will have more power than ever before, it won't happen again this time."

Returning to the stadium, the Dark Diva and everyone else's jaws were firmly on the ground. If all they could take away from this duel was this, it would be this turn. All these surprises had only made it more difficult to judge who of the two duelists could succeed in this duel. And if Yuzu could really turn the duel around.

"I activate Gladiolus' effect, it allows me to select a Light Monster on field and have it gain 100 attack points equal to its level, I select Pendulum King Of Justice." Yuzu mentioned, then remembered something else. "Oh yes, a little more detail, the pendulum effect of Amaryllis allows me to gain twice as many life points when the effect of a Majestic Knight or En-Angel is activated."

_**Yuzu LP: 3050 + 1400 = 4450. **_

"At the same time, when I gain life points, the effect of Flower Magician forces us both to draw a card from our decks." The sorceress raised her staff and fired a beam of energy at the duellists' decks, which allowed both of them to take a card from their deck.

"I activate Dominion's effect and change the position of your monster." The Diva responded, Dominion went straight to Pendulum King of Justice.

"The effect of Percival is activated, you cannot target any of my Majestic Knight with card effects." The effect was directed at Percival who went into attack mode. The Diva's patience diminished each time.

"I activate the Action Card Illusion of Fire! This card allows me to select a monster on my field, and because of it, can attack the same number of times according to the number of monsters that I have in my field. There are four so Pendulum King can attack four times, but because of that, he is the only monster on my field that can attack. "

"Did you get two Action Cards that time?" The Diva said, Yuzu just smiled at her. She had hid that card in her hand so no one would notice. "Even so, your monster cannot defeat Arsene!"

"Finally I activate the Celestial UtopiaField Magic card. This ends now! I begin my battle phase." The king opened his wings, materializing a sword and preparing to attack. "The effect of Loyal steed is now activated and my Majestic Knight monster gains 300 attack points."

_**Majestic Knight Pendulum King Of Justice ATK: 2900 + 300 = 3200. **_

"This turn will really define the climax of this duel!" Nico Smiley commented, barely containing the excitement of the duel.

The King opened his wings, his sword beginning to glow with a red aura, he made a circular movement while petals of different flowers manifested. "When Pendulum King is summoned because of a Pendulum Summon, this card can't not be destroyed in battle but when he attacks a special summoned monster, I can do battle damage equal to your monster's attack. "

Both monsters collided their swords creating a huge wave that separated them both and each duelist receiving respective damage.

_**Dark Diva LP: 6650-3500 = 3150. **_

_**Yuzu LP: 4450-300 = 4150. **_

"I activate the effect of Majestic Healing, gaining another caunter and then I eliminate all of its counters to activate its effect and select King to gain 200 attack for each counter." The continuous card was destroyed but released a bolt of energy that went straight to King.

_**Pendulum King Of Justice ATK: 3000 + 600 = 3600. **_

Yuya had arrived at the stadium seeing Yuzu in the field. "Yuzu." He muttered, worried.

"Let's finish this Pendulum King, Majestic Slash."

The Diva reacted quickly, not making herself lose any time. "I activate my Sakuretsu Armor trap card, I can destroy the attacking monster."

"The effect of Celestial Utopia protects King from being destroyed by the effect of my opponent's cards."

"That can't be!" The Diva muttered in fear of what would happen next.

The King cut Arsene in half creating a huge explosion, from it no smoke came out but many flower petals that surrounded the huge stadium. The Diva could only watch her life points decreasing to zero. This was the power that the clan sought.

_**Dark Diva LP: 3150-3500 = 0. **_

Meanwhile Masumi had defeated the last member of the clan. "Mr. Akaba, we were able to arrest everyone." She said. "What do we do with them?"

Meanwhile Masumi had defeated the last member of the clan. "Mr. Akaba, we were able to arrest everyone." She said. "What do we do with them?"

"Well, go to the stadium, I don't want the Diva to escape." Reiji replied.

In the stadium again, the Action Field was fading in front of Yuzu, including her entertainment outfit. She looked at the Diva for a moment and then saw her vanish into nothingness, she was going to say something but her eyes began to close and if it wasn't for the fact that someone had grabbed her, she would have fallen to the solid ground.

The only thing she saw before passing out was the blurry image of a boy with red and green hair. "Yuya."" She smiled after falling deeply asleep, her hair returning to its pinkish tone while her clothes returned to normal.

* * *

_**(You show) **_

Yuzu opened her eyes. Confused, she reached the armchair of You Show and not remembering anything that happened before, she got up from it. Maybe she had stayed up all night training, improving her deck to the best it could be. She always did it, as she always said, it's better to be safe than sorry.

She lasted a few minutes walking through You Show, looking for her father to see if he was in his office. "Hey dad is-Hi." She wasn't surprised by the fact that her father was there, it was normal, but more so because that boy who ruined her presentation in the park was also there.

YUZU!" The man in the red suit, her father, ran out to hug her very tightly. "I was so worried, after you passed out in the stadium I came to think that the worst happened to you."

She tried to get her father to release her from the big hug and when she could break free, she could finally speak. "What do you mean, did something happen?" She asked with much confusion.

Both Yuya and Shuzo looked at each other, maybe she didn't remember anything that happened. "Yuzu, don't you remember that you won against that duelist? "

At first she was just as confused as she was a while ago, until she began to remember previous details of the duel she had, it was specific moments, such as the moment her deck began to change, how she got that new type of Summoning and most importantly, what that voice told her.

It occurred to her to check her deck holder. In there she was surprised to discover that her deck had completely changed, her original archetype was totally gone. "What happened to me during that duel?" She wondered.

Her father noticed how worried she was. "Do you remember everything? Are you okay?" Not wanting to overwhelm her after all the stress that happened in that duel, the best thing for now is for her to rest. "Take all day, if you want, you need to get a lot of sleep."

Yuzu shook her head. " No, don't worry, I slept enough." She said then turning her attention to Yuya. "So, Yuya, why are you here?"

"He rescued you when you fell from the stadium." Shuzo said, Yuya was able to communicate with the school, since in his first encounter with Yuzu, she had given him the paper that the school has sponsored. "He also told me that you persuaded him to join the school, well done, Yuzu!"

He was proud of her for basically everything, but Yuzu was still confused with all this trouble, maybe she needed to think it through much better before showing up to the public, who knows what could happen.

"Dad, can I take the rest of the day off?" She asked.

Her father agreed with a nod. "Yes, you deserve it for everything you've done today."

She approached Yuya, thanking him for what he did. "Thank you for what you did, not everyone does something like that for anyone."

Yuya smiled while scratching his head. "It's nothing, anyone else would do the same."

Yuzu took Yuya by the arm. "Hey, dad, I'm going out with Yuya for a moment, I want to thank him better. I'm inviting him for ice cream." It wasn't one of her best excuses but it worked for now.

"Oh, okay, when you come back I'll prepare the celebration dinner for both of you." Shuzo exclaimed, excited.

Minutes had passed since Yuzu and Yuya left the house, obviously, they weren't going to buy ice cream, but Yuzu needed to leave the house to confront Yuya, just maybe he knew better what happened to her.

"Aren't we going to eat ice cream?" Yuya asked incredulously, he wanted to at least eat some ice cream since he suddenly felt hungry, the poor teen hadn't eaten anything since yesterday.

"No, we won't." Yuzu sighs. "I wanted to talk to you about what happened in the duel." She pout while blushing with shame. "I don't remember anything that happened in the duel."

"Ehhh?!" Yuya's jaw almost reached the floor, baffled to hear that. "Like you don't remember anything?" Yuzu nodded with her face as red as Yuya's hair, she really hated this whole situation. "But how will you do when people want to see it?"

"I don't know, I just know what happened before and how my deck changed immediately." Yuzu growled. "You at least saw the duel, right?" Yuya shook his head, he had arrived after the duel ended unfortunately for the pink-haired girl. "I need to find a way to remember how I did it, I need to save the school."

He noticed the girl's sadness, putting his hand on the girl's shoulders. "You can do it, if you did it once, you can do it again." There was some warmth in hearing those words, it had been a long time since she had heard anyone else cheer her up other than her father. Even the quality smile of the boy, it was good to have another person trusting her.

"Thanks Yuya, but things are never so easy, it has never been for me." Yuzu mentioned with a sad, melancholic tone that also expressed some hope. "But now, I can try using this method to change things."

"Then I will be there to help you, so that you teach me to use that Summoning Method when you manage to perfect it."

Yuzu smiled. "Maybe, when I manage to perfect it." She raised her hand, wanting Yuya to shake it. "Will it be a promise until then?"

This was the first time in a long time that someone had treated him this way, he accepted the handshake. Yuya's stomach then roared with great intensity making him clutch his stomach while suffering.

"Is something wrong Yuya?"

"I haven't eaten all day." Yuya responded.

"I see, can't you go to your house or something?"

Yuya shook his head. "Right now my parents aren't at home." He lied clearly, he had no family. "Besides, I can eat something in the street, don't worry."

Yuzu didn't believe him for a moment, she looked at him with narrowed eyes.

"Why are you looking at me like that?"

"You're lying, it shows a lot in you." She could see the red of his face, in addition to other things. "People always make strange gestures every time they lie. For example, for some reason, this strand of your hair is moving." She was right, a particular strand of Yuya's hair was moving frantically. "That's not normal, you should go to a doctor."

"Or even a barber." Yuya said although Yuzu didn't like the cheesy joke.

"Anyway, you can come to my house when Dad finishes making dinner." She said, she couldn't help Yuya's problem but she gave him her phone number to contact her if he needed more "I'll see you later, my new student Yuya." Yuzu winked.

* * *

_**(LDS)**_

As he expected the results were much more than satisfactory. The mysterious box resulted in the creation of this new Summoning Method, which he witnessed with his own eyes. This is the power that Sakaki Yusho kept hidden for so long.

This only proved one thing, this man was more than a pioneer, he was a genius, he already understood why his father would join someone like that to form his empire.

The next move he had to make was to take precautions that the pendulum cards of Hiiragi Yuzu didn't fall into the hands of the enemy, she was indispensable for his plan.

"Sir, I would like to know, why did you let a civilian like her take this enormous power?" Masumi asked. "During the two years that I have worked with you, haven't I shown you that my skills are more advanced?"

He knows well that Masumi wasn't that kind of person who took away from trivialities such as demonstrating strength in combat. He knew her story with the Hiiragi girl well, perhaps her lack of experience in a romantic relationship didn't reveal the whole parameter of what Masumi had suffered.

He was straight with her, as always. " You could not have unlocked the power that flower has." He said, adjusting his glasses "You know I never doubt your skills. Only this time, you weren't necessary."

She couldn't be angry with him, whatever the reasons that led to that decision, it was none of her business, she just had to follow Reiji's orders, he was always right.

"We need to talk." Reiji heard a familiar voice, he also felt someone's hand on his shoulder, a phantasmagorical figure was behind him, which for the CEO was already too familiar.

"Could you give me a moment please?" Masumi accepted the order without any problem, closing the door before leaving to leave him alone as usual. Reiji turns off all the lights in the rooms. "She really is fragmented, why did we never know Adam?" He maintained his attitude, trying to hide his feelings.

"They hide well all these years, the kings and queens want to be hidden, interesting. Why rebel now?" Adam wonders and then smiles as if all his air of seriousness he showed before vanished. "Uhhh, you know something Reiji, you should go out, talk to more people. I'm sure if you do, you could get a boyfriend or girlfriend, maybe that pretty girl Grace. "

Speaking of the devil. Someone abruptly opened the office door. "I'm sorry, Mr. Akaba-" The voice belonged to the aforementioned Grace, that girl who was being taken from her silver hair by Masumi. "Masu-Chan! Don't be so rude! I just come to deliver breakfast to Mr. Akaba."

"I told you that he asked that nobody bother him, why do you never listen to anything?" She exclaimed, while trying to force her out of the office. Which was her habit, she did it often.

"But it's time for food, and I always bring it to him."

"Reiji it's true, you shouldn't waste your food. You know you should always stay healthy, remember that I used to say that quite often. " Adam spoke to him and as much as he pretended not to pay attention. Needs as basic as food was necessary for the body.

"Let her pass Masumi. It will be fast."

With that order, Reiji's bodyguard released Grace, the assistant stuck out her tongue, which was not well received with the straight face that Masumi did, she knew she wasn't wasting time with her.

"How is Mr. Reiji today? I hope he is in a good mood today." Her hyperactive personality proved not to connect with the stoic attitude of his boss. "I see that you are well, that's why I came to bring him his favorite." From the bento box she took out a plate, it was basic things like rice, fish meat and simple things that was not food for an entrepreneur like Reiji, since he was preferring the typical food that his assistant made more than any other Gourmet chef.

"Thank you Grace." Reiji says, he saw how the girl was still standing in front of him with her smile. "You can leave if you want."

Grace pouted when she shook her head, dissatisfied with Mr. Akaba's attitude. Even Masumi knew what was going on, she had to agree with Grace this time.

Adam had to interfere in the matter with how dense his apprentice was. "Reiji, my disciple. If a girl made you a meal, the most sensible thing to do is tell her is the food taste good. " Adam said. "Besides, you've already repeated this dynamic with her several times."

Reiji finally remembered, Grace was always waiting for a response for all her meals. "I get it." He went on to finish his meal. When he finished it, he passed the bentos to Grace. "As always, I enjoy your meal."

Grace smiled "I could possibly prepare fish or even something different."

"It will be the best, thanks."

* * *

_**(Hiragi Residence.) **_

Time went by quite quickly. It was night, right now the duelist is checking her deck, she had all the cards on the floor. It was difficult to analyse it, because she didn't know anything well at all, even on her first turn that she used it, she could only handle the simplest cards and she still didn't have a clear strategy.

"Why does everything have to be so complicated?" Yuzu told herself. She dropped to the floor and sighed. "Because I can't remember anything, I still don't know how these cards work." Things didn't seem right.

Yuzu was a girl who has always had problems. Since Yusho left, the school has not been the same, after that everything started to decline in her life, her father tried too hard to keep the school, her mother left them, even when she could do something, like winning tournaments with her best friends; It never helped, all that effort wasted.

She looked at some photos on her shelf. "Things won't be as before, they will not return, it's all your fault Masumi." She got up from the ground, she no longer needed to lament, now she has a way to build. She put all her cards back in her Deck Holder, she had to make dinner tonight.

Although thinking about it, she won the duel, so her father should at least take care of preparing tonight, she had a mischievous smile with that idea, because she was going to say that when she went down to the kitchen.

As she lowers, she notices a strange noise coming from the main room and then she saw that the lights throughout the house began to flash furiously. "What's happening? She wondered, wanting to get to the bottom of the matter.

"Father!" She shouts when she sees that her father is passed out in the hands of a strange man in white, who only had a mask on his face. "Who the hell are you?"

The man watched her. "If you love your father, you will have to take your Pendulum cards to the Miami City bridge and have a duel with me there." She took out a dagger, putting it in the middle of her father's neck to show her that he was serious. "If not, your father will pay dearly."

"No Please." She said but before she could do anything, the man had disappeared from the room and the lights went out. Now alone, she was in a difficult position, as she would have to save her father and stop who this person was.

He rescued you when you fell from the stadium." Shuzo said, Yuya was able to communicate with the school, since in his first encounter with Yuzu, she had given him the paper that the school has sponsored. "He also told me that you persuaded him to join the school, well done, Yuzu!"

* * *

Yuzu: "That voice in my head was right, the power of the pendulum is amazing."

Masumi: "Better stop listening to things in your head and concentrate on finding your kidnapped father."

Yuzu: "Oh right, dad is in danger and I have no idea how to use pendulum summon."

Yuya: "Don't worry Yuzu, I can save him, I think, but this guy looks too strong."

Yuzu: "Sigh, why should I have met this pervert. Next time in Yugioh Arc-V: Lost Pendulum-" The rebirth of Odd-Eyes. "

* * *

OC cards:

_**(Yuzu)**_

_**Majestic Knight Mozarta of Melodies  
Attribute: Light  
Level: 8  
Type: Fairy/Pendulum/Effect  
Scale: 1  
ATK/DEF: 2600/2000  
P: Target 1 LIGHT Pendulum Monster you control; this turn, any battle damage it inflicts to your opponent is doubled. You can only activate this effect if you gained LP this turn.  
M: Once per turn, you can target LIGHT Pendulum Monsters in your GY or face-up Extra Deck up to the number of times you gained LP this turn; Special Summon those targets, but return them to your hand during the End Phase. **_

_**Majestic Knight Pendulum King of Justice  
Attribute: Light  
Level: 7  
Type: Warrior/Pendulum/Effect  
Scale: 9  
ATK/DEF: 2500/2000  
P: If a Pendulum Monster you control is targeted for an attack: Target that opponent's monster, then destroy this card; negate that attack, and if you do, LIGHT monsters you control with less ATK than the opponent's targeted monster cannot be selected as attack targets until the End Phase.  
M: When this card is Pendulum Summoned, it gains these effect:  
* This card cannot be destroyed by battle once per turn.  
* When this card attacks an opponent's Special Summoned monster: Inflict damage to your opponent equal to that monster's ATK.**_

_**Majestic Knight EN-Angel Amaryllis  
Attribute: Light  
Level: 5  
Type: Fairy/Pendulum/Effect  
Scale: 1  
ATK/DEF: 1900/300  
P: Double any LP you gain from your card effects. You must have another "EN-Angel" or "Majestic Knight" card in your Pendulum Zone to Pendulum Summon or activate this card's effects. Once per turn, if your opponent controls more monsters than you do while you have an "EN-Angel" or "Majestic Knight" card in your other Pendulum Zone: You can excavate the top 5 cards of your Deck, then target 1 monster among the excavated cards with a Level between the Pendulum Scales of cards in your Pendulum Zones; Special Summon that target, then shuffle the remaining cards back into your Deck.  
M: Any effect that would increase your Life Points also inflicts the same amount of damage to your opponent while this card is on the field. **_

_**Majestic Knight EN-Angel Anemone  
Attribute: Light  
Level: 4  
Type: Fairy/Pendulum/Effect  
Scale: 9  
ATK/DEF: 1900/300  
P: LIGHT Pendulum Monsters you control gain 200 ATK. You must have another "EN-Angel" or "Majestic Knight" card in your Pendulum Zone to Pendulum Summon or activate this card's effects. Once per turn, if your opponent controls more monsters than you do while you have an "EN-Angel" or "Majestic Knight" card in your other Pendulum Zone: You can excavate the top 4 cards of your Deck, then target 1 monster among the excavated cards with a Level between the Pendulum Scales of cards in your Pendulum Zones; Special Summon that target, then shuffle the remaining cards back into your Deck.  
M: Special Summon 1 Level 4 or lower LIGHT monster from your hand or GY in Defense Position, but it cannot attack directly. When a monster Special Summoned by this card's effect leaves the field: Gain 200 LP x its Level. You can only use each effect of "Majestic Knight EN-Angel Anemone" once per turn. **_

_**Majestic Knight Loyal Steed  
Attribute: Light  
Level: 4  
Type: Beast/Effect  
ATK/DEF: 1300/1300  
All "Majestic Knight" monsters you control gain 300 ATK/DEF during each turn's Battle Phase. Once per turn, when this card destroys an opponent's monster by battle: Excavate the top 3 cards of your Deck, add 1 Spell/Trap to your hand with "Majestic Knight" written in its text, also, after that, shuffle the rest back into your Deck. **_

_**Majestic Knight Percival the Brave  
Attribute: Light  
Level: 4  
Type: Warrior/Pendulum/Effect  
Scale: 8  
ATK/DEF: 1600/1000  
P: When your LIGHT Pendulum Monster attacks an opponent's monster: That monster gains ATK equal to the amount of LP you gained this turn during the Damage Step only.  
M: Your opponent cannot target "Majestic Knight" monsters you control with attacks or effect, except this one. The first time this card would be destroyed by battle each turn, it is not destroyed. When this card battles an opponent's monster and is not destroyed by that battle: Inflict damage to your opponent equal to the amount of LP you gained this turn. **_

_**Majestic Knight Royal Breaker  
Attribute: Light  
Level: 4  
Type: Warrior/Effect  
ATK/DEF: 1900/1300  
Once per turn, if you gain LP because of your card effect: You can destroy 1 face-up Spell/Trap on the field.**_

_**Majestic Knight Flower Magician  
Attribute: Light  
Level: 3  
Type: Fairy/Pendulum/Effect  
Scale: 9  
ATK/DEF: 1200/0  
P: When you gain LP by your own card effect: Draw 1 card, then discard 1 card. You can only use this effect of "Majestic Knight Flower Magician" once per turn.  
M: When you gain LP: Both players draw 1 card. When this card leaves the field: Draw 1 card and reveal it, then, if it is not a Fairy monster, send it to the GY. You can only use each effect of "Majestic Knight Flower Magician" once per turn. **_

_**EN-Angel Gladiolus  
Attribute: Light  
Level: 2  
Type: Fairy/Effect  
ATK/DEF: 600/500  
Target 1 LIGHT monster you control; gain 100 LP x its Level, and if you do, Special Summon this card (from your hand). You can only Summon "EN-Angel Gladiolus" once per turn this way. When this card leaves the field after being Special Summoned by its own effect: Take damage equal to the amount of LP gained by this effect.**_

_**Majestic Knight Harmonious Nympha  
Attribute: Light  
Level: 2  
Type: Fairy/Effect  
ATK/DEF: 1200/1000  
Once per turn, you can target 1 "Majestic Knight" monster in your hand, GY, or face-up Extra Deck; Special Summon it, but return it to your hand during the End Phase. You must control no other cards to activate and to resolve this effect. "Majestic Knight" monsters you control gain 200 ATK. **_

**_Angel's Reinforcement  
Normal Spell Card  
If you control no face-up monsters: Pay 2000 LP; Special Summon 1 "Majestic Knight" monster from you Deck in Defense Position._**

_**Majestic Healing  
Continuous Spell Card  
When you inflict battle damage to your opponent with a LIGHT Monster: Gain 200 LP, and if you do, place 1 Angel Counter on this card. During the Battle Phase (Quick Effect): You can target 1 LIGHT Pendulum Monster you control, then destroy this card; that target gains 200 ATK x the number of Angel Counters on this card when it was destroyed. **_

_**MajesticRecruitment  
ContinuousSpellCard  
Activatethiscardbyplacing3AngelCountersonit. Once perturn,whena "MajesticKnight"monsteryoucontrolisdestroyed: Place 1AngelCounteronthiscard. Once perturn,youcanremove2AngelCountersfromanywhereonthefieldtoSpecialSummon1Level3orlowerLIGHTFairymonsterfromyourDeckin Defense (s)isremovedfromthiscard,destroyit.**_

_**Celestial Utopia  
Field Spell Card  
The first time a LIGHT Pendulum Monster you control would be destroyed by an opponent's card effect each turn, it is not destroyed. During your End Phase, while you have a card(s) in your Pendulum Zone: Gain 200 LP for each face-up LIGHT Pendulum Monster you control, and if you do and the card(s) in your Pendulum Zone is an "EN-Angel" card (min. 1), you can add 1 Level 5 or higher "Majestic Knight" monster from your Deck to your hand. **_

_**Angel's Penance  
Normal Trap Card  
At the end of the Battle Phase in which you were attacked directly: Special Summon up to 2 "Majestic Knight" monsters from your Deck with combined DEF less than or equal to the damage you took from direct attacks this turn in Defense Position with their effects negated.**_

_**(Dark Diva)**_

_**Deus Ex Arsene  
Attribute: Dark  
Level: 8  
Type: Fairy/Fusion/Effect  
ATK/DEF: 3000/0  
3 "Deus Ex" monsters or 1 LIGHT "Deus Ex" Fusion Monster  
Your opponent cannot target "Deus Ex" monsters you control with card effects, except this one. When this attacking card destroys a monster by battle: Inflict damage to your opponent equal to that monster's Level/Rank x 300. If this card was Fusion Summoned using 1 LIGHT "Deus Ex" Fusion Monster: It can attack 3 times during each Battle Phase. **_

_**Deus Ex Carmen  
Attribute: Light  
Level: 5  
Type: Fairy/Fusion/Effect  
ATK/DEF: 2300/100  
2 "Deus Ex" monsters or 1 "Deus Ex" Fusion Monster  
Once per turn, when this attacking card destroys a monster by battle: You can activate this effect; Special Summon 1 "Deus Ex" monster from your GY in Defense Position, then this card can make a second attack in a row. When this card leaves the field: All "Deus Ex" monsters you control gain 800 ATK until the end of your opponent's next turn. At the end of your Battle Phase, if this card was Fusion Summoned using 1 "Deus Ex" Fusion Monster: Draw 1 card for each monster this card destroyed in battle during this turn's Battle Phase. **_

_**Deus Ex Dominion  
Attribute: Dark  
Level: 4  
Type: Fairy/Fusion/Effect  
ATK/DEF: 1500/0  
2 "Deus Ex" monsters or 1 "Deus Ex" Fusion Monster  
All "Deus Ex" monsters gain 500 ATK. Target 1 face-up monster on the field (Quick Effect); change its battle position, also, if this card was Fusion Summoned using 1 "Deus Ex" Fusion Monster, an opponent's monster targeted by this effect loses 500 ATK/DEF. You can use this effect of "Deus Ex Dominion" each turn up to the number of "Deus Ex" monsters you control with different names.  
**_

_**Deus Ex Zorro  
Attribute: Light  
Level: 4  
Type: Fairy/Effect  
ATK/DEF: 1400/1000  
Your opponent cannot target "Deus Ex" monsters for attacks, except this one. When this card is targeted for an attack: Your opponent can discard 1 card to negate this effect, otherwise inflict damage to your opponent equal to half this card's ATK. **_

_**Deus Ex Orpheus  
Attribute: Light  
Level: 3  
Type: Fairy/Effect  
ATK/DEF: 1300/1000  
When this card is Summoned: You can target 1 Level 4 or lower "Deus Ex" monster in your GY; Special Summon it. Once per turn, during your Main Phase 1: You can halve this card's ATK, and if you do, it can attack your opponent directly. If this card inflicts battle damage by a direct attack: Add 1 "Deus Ex" Spell Card from your Deck to your hand. **_

_**Deus Ex Scathach  
Attribute: Light  
Level: 3  
Type: Fairy/Effect  
ATK/DEF: 1200/100  
If this card is Summoned while you control a "Deus Ex" monster besides "Deus Ex Scathach": You can target 1 of your banished "Deus Ex" Spell Cards; add it to your hand, but for the rest of the turn, you cannot attack with Level 5 or lower monsters.**_

_**Deus Ex Actor Change  
Quick-Play Spell Card  
Fusion Summon 1 "Deus Ex" Fusion Monster from your Extra Deck, using monsters from your hand or field as Fusion Material. If a "Deus Ex" Fusion Monster battles: After damage calculation, you can target that monster and banish this card from your GY; return that target to your Extra Deck and Special Summon 1 "Deus Ex" Fusion Monster with a different name from your Extra Deck (this Special Summon is treated as a Fusion Summon).**_

* * *

**_Special thanks to Anti-Mattering and And The Sky._**


	4. Chapter 4

**_Special thanks to Antimattering,_**_**CeleneTheAnge**l_**_, And the sky among others, Pure Red Crane._**

**_I am sorry for the tardiness but due to some problems with the school, COVID 19 among other things, the chapters there have been massive delays in writing this story. The next chapter is finished but needs more time before being published._**

**_Another important thing that I have forgotten, is to explain is this story, this is an AU that fuses concepts from both Manga and Anime from Arc v, more or less a hybrid between both giving an original story where Yuzu has a leading role. Now I will not say more detail, but as you saw in other chapters there are things that have changed radically between both series and to be honest, there are OC characters, many changes to other characters that would be considered out of character._**

**_Now if you do not like these things, I understand, there is no need to have to read this story and I would appreciate that there were no unpleasant comments, I will accept criticism of the story and less than if this change to canon is fine or not._**

**_Now, some details about the genesis clan, take a lot of attention to them, as it is connected even more to Reiji and Adam's past than some of you think. Adam himself is another character that I see very wasted from the canon of the manga, he is not a character with his own personality and many of the things that happen around him do not make sense in the context of the manga or his relationship with Yuya or Reiji._**

**_Also note that one of the most important changes was Masumi as Rival and Yuzu's past romantic interest, yes, Yuzu is bisexual in this story and is a part of her character that I am crazy to explore when the time is right. Also I will not talk about the other counterparts for now but keep attention in future chapters because the least expected will be part of the cast of the first chapters._**

**_You can all guess it if you want and leave it in the comments._**

**_Finally, I want to thank all the people who have commented on the story and at the same time I would like to invite them to also read it in AO3, since I have the links of the artists who have helped me there._**

**_Reviews:_**

**_Roxas itsuka: Thanks for the comments you have left, I am very happy that you are enjoying the story and I know that I have not had much time to read yours and I am sorry for that. For the questions you have left, I am not going to answer them all but there will be things that you like._**

* * *

_**Chapter 4: The rebirth of Odd-Eyes.**_

The most sensible thing that the young duelist had to do was explain to the police that her father was kidnapped. It just seemed that simple, as Yuzu sat there in the waiting room. She checked her duel disk by the hour, although doing so only worsened her anxiety more than anything. At one point, she realized that she had received a missed call from Yuya, but must have forgotten it out of concern.

"Dad." She murmured, tear drops beginning to come out of her eyes. Someone opened the door to the room. Wiping the tears from her eyes, she looked straight at the officers."Finally..! Please! You have to help my dad!" She rose abruptly from the chair, hands in a prayer position in front of her face.

The officers looked at each other, and both nodded. Yuzu didn't understand why they made that gesture. "Don't worry, Miss. First, we want to ask you to do something, if that would be okay?"

"Yes, whatever you need, but please help my father." She says desperately, she would do anything right now to save her father

The look of both police officers quickly turned into a malevolent smile. "Give us your deck and we may be able to hand your father over."

"What?!" She replied in shock, then, she responded indignantly to the request of both men. "What does that have to do with anything?" What kind of corrupt men would want a deck of cards... Unless these men work for the person who caught their father. "Don't tell me, you work with him!?" She trembled with fear.

The second policeman answered her. "Give it to us and your father won't have to suffer. It's better than the second option." One of the officers said, taking a strange object from his pockets that Yuzu couldn't identify, it was obvious the he would use chloroform on it. "You don't want to have to go to see our partner, do you?"

What seemed to be the most logical solution turned into hell.

The so-called cops were starting to press her to the wall, their sadistic glances making her fear for her and her father's lives. "Give us the cards, young lady. It's that simple and nobody will have to suffer."

Yuzu put her hand on the deck in her pocket. The thought of giving it to them hurt her head, but it was the best way to get out of this situation and get her father back once and for all. Her trembling hand reached into the pocket of her skirt.

Without warning, an object suddenly shattered the window and the eyes of the policemen immediately focused on it. Quickly, the room filled with white smoke, blinding everyone.

"What the hell?!" One of the corrupt officers shouted without realizing l the door had opened.

"Concentrate on the girl! Don't let her escape!"

A figure in a white cloak grabbed Yuzu's hand.

"What's going on?" She asked, more confused than ever.

The figure put his index finger over his mouth, a sifnal to stay silent. "_We have to go."_ He whispered, immediately taking her out of the room through the window, using Solid Vision to summon a phoenix. Both of them scrambled onto its back and, with some unspoken signal, the bird broke through the wall.

The men watched as the girl and white-caped figure escaped into the night. One of the policemen, scowling, took a communicator out from his jacket. "The target has escaped, along with Phantom."

"Don't worry, they won't get away." The other person on the communicator spoke. "Now we just have two birds to shoot down." He chuckled malevolently.

* * *

**_Five minutes later..._**

Under the bright moonlight of the colorful Miami City, two young people rode on the Phoenix. Yuzu herself was still in shock, surprised at being on a Solid Vision monster. She did her best to hold Phantom's waist no matter how embarrassing it may be. She had never been up so high.

"We're about to land on a building. You don't have to keep worrying about the height." Phantom said, making sure the girl was not afraid. "You've flown on an airplane before, right?"

"It's not the same." Yuzu said, sure that a plane did not compare to this. "Are you Phantom? Are you really a criminal?"

"No, I don't think I've even stolen anything in my life or committed a crime."

"You broke a wall with your monster. You also destroyed private property – that's a crime. Next you kidnap me. That's at least two crimes you committed!"

Phantom scratched his head, laughing awkwardly. The girl was basically right.

"Something like that, but at least I saved you." Yuzu was about to argue on how dangerous the act he did was, without even taking into consideration realizing how pieces of the wall he broke could have hit someone's head, but the girl was also dealing with the desire to hold on and not fall to a horrible death.

"We're here." He announced as the phoenix landed on a nearby building. Phantom observed that the girl had yet to detach from his back, she was still shivering and terrified. "Don't worry, we've landed...You don't have to keep hugging me." He said, starting to feel awkward and uncomfortable with her face pressed against his back.

Upon realising he was right she unlatched from Phantom's back and jumped off the phoenix. "Finally! solid ground! I've missed you!" Phantom couldn't contain himself, laughing loudly at her antics. "Don't laugh! I could have fallen off!"

"That was ridiculous!" He said, still chuckling. The bird disappeared as he turned off his duel disk. With his hoodie on, it was easy for the girl not to believe it was Phantom, or at least she thought so. The girl pulled herself together and looked at Phantom.

"Okay, Yuya, stop the games. Who are these people who took my dad away?" He

"Yuya? Who are you talking about? I am Phantom." Yuzu moved and with a straight face, pointing at the huge accent of Yuya's green hair poking through, though he was trying to pull his hood further forward he was smiling.

"You're not even trying to hide your voice. Maybe nobody will recognize you if you wear a mask." Yuya had to take that into consideration for next time. "So, do you know who has my father?"

"More or less."

Her body stiffened. "You don't know?!"

Yuya just shrugged, nervous even.

"So why do you even face them?"

He answered like it was the easiest answer in the world.

"Because they hurt others. Their way of causing harm with dueling is disgusting." His hands clenched into fists while biting his lip. "They call themselves the Clan of Genesis. I don't know what their goals are, but they want to get that flower you have, and your pendulum cards. They even came to threaten the entire stadium."

"That happened when I was dueling..?" Yuya nodded. "The Dark Diva belongs to that group, is that why she had that duel with me?"

"If it wasn't for her and LDS, none of this would have happened. No one should have had that box from the start. Everything that happened was my fault."

"LDS?!" She practically yelled, hearing the name of that damn company that only caused her problems. She stomped her foot and started to growl. "They always find a way to ruin my life in some way!"

"Has he hurt you?" Yuya asked with sudden concern. "That guy who owns the company is very strange, I honestly wouldn't blame you if you had any problems with him."

Yuzu sneered. "Reiji Akaba is one of the worst people in Miami city. He is just another rich boy." She mentioned, the tone of her voice clearly showing malice. "He buys out schools to grow his own dueling school! He wants to create a stupid monopoly! I'm **_not_** going to let him steal anything else from me!"

"I get it." Yuya said, part of him feeling guilty for bringing up the subject. "Now, we don't have much time. We must save your father. So we should start with the basics." Yuzu sighed, nodding to Yuya.

After their little meeting, Yuzu had explained the whole situation to him, how that man entered her house, took her father and told her to go to that bridge near the park in Miami City. Since they couldn't trust the police, all they could do now was confront the man in the park. They went straight there on the same bird they used before.

They arrived at the park on time, and there was a familiar-looking man in a robe there already. But he was not alone. Yuzu's father was tied on a chair, out cold. Tears leaked out of her eyes and she immediately went to him. "Dad!" She exclaimed, racing towards him but Yuya grabbed her forearm to stop her. "Why?"

The man in the robe began to laugh. "One more step and bam! Your father would have been executed with this." The man grabbed a necklace attached to Shuzo's neck, making Yuzu angry. "This little gadget around his neck, in addition to being a nice accessory that fits him well, can also make him leave this world with a simple energy discharge."

Yuya tried to reassure the girl, holding her so that she didn't do something risky.

"Just give me the cards in your deck. That's all." The man said. "Or face me in a duel. If you win, you get your father back. If not, I keep your deck and your father ends up dying by my hands." The masked man informed them.

Yuzu took her duel disk and her deck, looking at it before doing any action. She didn't know this deck at all, not even the new possibilities that these Pendulum cards had. But if she was able to replicate what happened before, she could save her father.

Again, Phantom stopped her by telling her the obvious. "You don't know that deck. It's not worth trying." The entertainer continued. "And since I agreed to save him, let me do it."

Yuya smiled, even though the girl didn't understand why he was doing it at a time like this. He placed his hand on her shoulder. "You aren't ready for this duel. Not when you don't know your own deck, but I already have experience dealing with them, so I have a better chance to beat him."

"Yu-" Yuzu noticed that she almost said his name. "Phantom, this is my fight…but..." What she was about to do was silly, but under these circumstances, there would be no better option. "If you lose this duel, I will not forgive you. Save my father, understood?"

The boy gave her a thumbs up. She hoped she wouldn't to regret this decision.

"My opponent will be the man who has been thwarting our group's plans. Interesting." The man said with a chuckle, raising his hands. A bright light blinded everyone, materializing into a duel disk and the man's white robes changed to a formal suit that looked strange to the naked eye, as well as having a strange mask and hat.

"This guy is a weirdo." Yuzu murmured.

He heard the insult more than clearly. "My name is Pandora, the master of mystical illusions. I will send my opponents to the other world!" He activated his duel disk.

They both exclaimed at the same time. "Duel!"

The field materialized in front of both duelists and Yuzu at the same time. It was a kind of diabolical theatre, full of sharp traps of any kind. In a clear part of the stage, Yuzu's father was trapped in a crystal booth.

Yuzu noticed this. "Take care, Phantom. Please." She said, worried about what that man could do to her father. Seeing him trapped behind that crystal at least gave Yuzu the assurance that he wasn't among one of these deadly traps.

"I'll beat him. Don't worry." Phantom assured her.

"Hahahaha!" They both looked at Pandora. "You are too foolish, my dear girl, to entrust your father's safety to someone you just met."

"Stop talking. I'm not going to let anything happen to her." Yuya answered. "You are just like the other clan members, overconfident and therefore you will lose."

"If you say so." Pandora remarked, staring at the white-caped boy, which made Yuzu's concern grow even more. "But first, let's set some ground rules." A table materialized in front of them. "Each of us will shuffle each other's deck, as an honorable competition."

Yuzu narrowed her eyes, distrust of Pandora growing at that very moment

Yuya agreed though, putting his deck in the middle of the table. Pandora did the same and they both started shuffling the decks for at least five to ten seconds. The Ilusionist smiled causing greater distrust to grow in Phantom. In the end, they proceeded to pass each other's decks.

"Oh, by the way." Pandora clapped his hands, making two metal arms appear from the table and attach two metal objects on both duelist's necks.

"Phantom!" Yuzu cried out.

"What did you do?" Phantom asked, eyeing the mechanism suspiciously.

Pandora answered. "This device on our necks will send an electrical pulse to the loser of the duel that will kill him instantly, and also kill the sleeping maiden behind the mirror." He explained. "So, it's not just the life of the girl's father at stake, but yours as well."

Phantom touched the metallic object on his neck, grinding his teeth in anger. Then he looked at Yuzu; she was also concerned.

"There is hope for the winner. Because if one of us manages to get a key hidden in the boxes under each one of us, then that person will get his release and not die of electric shock. The loser will only have two minutes." Pandora pointed his finger at some metal boxes that were on each other's legs. "One more thing, this box will also release dear Juno's father."

Yuya nodded in confirmation.

"Let's start the duel at once. I will summon Magician Rod to the field." A wand appears in the field, a faceless ghost holding it emanating a chilling dark energy from what was once a powerful wizard.

**_Magician Rod: 1600ATK/100DEF._**

"That monster is quite rare. I've never seen it before." Yuya put his hand under his chin. "It's quite strange."

"How strange?" Yuzu asked, suddenly alarmed at his lack of knowledge. "That's a monster that belongs to the Dark Magician archetype, one of the oldest archetypes in the game." At this point, she was already yelling at him. "Have you been living under a rock this whole this time?"

Phantom smiled at her, hiding all nervousness. "Just kidding..." With that, all hope Yuzu had for him instantly disappeared.

At the sight of both of them acting in this way, the smile on Pandora's face grew. "Continuing my turn, Magician Rod's effect activates: it allows me to add a "Dark Magician" Magic or Trap card to my hand." At his command, it was so and he was quick to pull out the newly acquired Magic Card. "I then activate the Continuous Spell Dark Magician Circle. Its effect allows me to look at the first three cards at the top of my deck, and if one of them is a Dark Magician or a Trap or Magic with that name, I can add it to my hand." He took the first three cards, looking at them before smiling as he returned the other two to his deck. "I leave two cards face down and end my turn."

The Pendulum Duelist narrowed her eyes when she saw the cards in Pandora's field. "Be careful. That archetype's card are more dangerous than they look. They are high-level monsters that, together with good trap supports, are treacherous to face."

Phantom gave her a thumbs-up of approval. "I'll win. Don't worry." He immediately started his turn by taking a card from his deck. "I will summon Entermate Warrior Tiger." A cat man dressed in a military suit appeared on the field.

**_Entermate Warrior Tiger: 1700 ATK/ 500 DEF_**

"Entermate?" Yuzu looked at the new monster that Yuya summoned to the field. "_Yusho Sakaki_." She whispered and then looked at Yuya. "He has his cards, but doesn't know him? Who are you?"

"I activate the Continuous Trap Card, Eternal Soul!" One of the illusionist's trap cards rose as, behind him, a large Egyptian tablet appeared with the image of Dark Magician. "With this, I can Special Summon a Dark Magician from my hand or graveyard. I will summon my Dark Magician." A sorcerer in a red robe materialized on the field.

"That's bad, Phantom!" Yuzu yelled.

"Why?" The Entermate Duelist questioned.

"Because the effect of my Dark Magical Circle, when a Dark Magician is Special Summoned to the field, I can have one of your cards banished from the field." Pandora screamed as his sorcerer began to recite a spell. "I will banish your Warrior Tiger."

The magician finished the spell with a magic circle appearing under the Entermate, causing it to disappear from the field.

Annoyed at seeing his monster being destroyed, Yuya muttered. "Warrior Tiger..."

"You should have thought more before making a move." Yuzu stressed, facing Yuya. "At least you should have read your opponent's card effects with your duel disk."

The Entermate Duelist scratched his head as he started to laugh uncomfortably. "Oh, yes, I had forgotten." Yuzu couldn't believe this as she looked at him with eyes narrowed in utter disbelief. "I will conclude my turn with two cards face down."

"Aren't you going to take an Action Card?" Yuzu asked.

"Don't worry. I already have a plan." Yuya assured her.

Pandora looked at Yuzu, started laughing, and then said sarcastically, "Your _savior_, my dear girl." Pandora pulled out a new card, staring at it as a grim smile appeared on his face

Yuya responded immediately. "I activate my Quick-play Spell Hippo Carnival card. I can summon three Hippo Tokens to the field." A shower of confetti came out of the card. A curtain materialized at that moment and, when it opened, it revealed three hippos dancing to the field.

**_Hippo Tokens: ATK 0 / DEF 0 X3_**

The pink haired girl smiled as she looked at the card. "Well done, Yuya. Now focus on looking for an Action Card." She didn't have to tell him because that was exactly what he did.

Watching his fight for an Action Card, Pandora couldn't help but laugh. "Easy, Phantom. You can't prevent your next defeat. I activate the Spell Card: Bond Between Teacher and Student."

Alarmed by the card Pandora activated, Yuzu immediately went to warn Yuya. "Get that Action card right now! That spell card is trouble!" Knowing that new detail, Yuya hurried to get an Action Card.

"My card's effect means that I can summon the darling assistant of the dark magician from my deck, Dark Magician Girl appears." A young girl in a more revealing sorcerer-like robe materialized on the field.

**_Dark Magician Girl: 2000 ATK / 1700 DEF_**

"Also, I can set Dark Burning Attack to the field." He said while a card materialized face down in the field.

Yuzu yelled at him again. "Phantom, that last card can destroy all the cards on your field. Do something!"

"I activate my Danger Draw Trap Card. This card allows me to send a Magic Card from my hand to my graveyard. The card I discard is Smile World. Now, I can draw a card. If it's a monster, I take damage equal to its attack." Phantom drew a card, but to his surprise, the card he had chosen was a monster, and it was Odd Eyes Dragon. "I drew Odd Eyes Dragon!"

**_Phantom LP: 4000 - 2500 = 1500_**

"Well, you're sure making this easier. But let me tell you something, I don't like it when others to do my job for me. I activate Dark Burning Attack. If I control a Dark Magician and Dark Magician Girl in the field, I can destroy all the cards on my opponent's field." Both sorcerers joined their staffs together, gathering as much dark energy as they could to create a huge dark ball that shot into Phantom's field, completely destroying it.

"Don't." Yuzu muttered, looking at Phantom and noting that he finally had a card on the field. "Good." But the sorcerer appeared behind Phantom. "Phantom!" She called out.

"Dark Magician! Attack Phantom directly."

The magician raised his hand and used his magic to attack Phantom, but the entertainer only looked at him with a smile. "That is what I expected. When a monster from my opponent makes a direct attack, I can summon my dear friend, Entermate Kuribohrder." A ball of hair with cartoon eyes materialized on the field, wearing a red and green hat and a tail of the same color as a star at the end.

**_Entermate Kuribohrder: 300 ATK/300 DEF_**

"What will that fur ball do to my monster?" Pandora responded to Yuya's new monster.

"Why do people always make fun of Kuribohs?" Yuzu grumbled. "Those monsters are really good. They may not be powerful, but there are far more useless cards than them."

Phantom was nodding, he had to agree with her. "Finally, someone who understands. I don't know why every clan member always criticizes this little guy." He stroked the head of his monster.

Pandora said nothing and just continued with his attack. "Dark Magician, attack." The magician destroyed Kuriboh with a single shot of his dark energy, but instead of singing victory, Pandora's face was more of a surprise. "What?! How's that possible?"

**_Phantom LP: 2500 2200 = 4700_**

"When I take battle damage with my Kuriboh, its effect allows me to add that damage to my life points." Yuya replied before putting Kuriboh's card in his graveyard, looking at it one last time. "Thanks, friend."

Yuzu realized what he did. "That boy is weird..."

"Dark Magician Girl, attack him directly." The sorceress went at full speed, and with an energy shot, she was able to knock Phantom down from where she was, letting him fall under some fences. "It'll be over very quickly." Pandora sang victoriously.

**_Phantom LP: 4700 - 2000 = 2700_**

But Yuya materialized a paper fan just in time before falling onto the metal latches, making him disappear, and this time, he was on the floor. He wiped the sweat off his forehead. "Uff, that was close."

Yuzu was relieved that Phantom hadn't fallen to his doom.

"Since I suffered damage in battle, I can activate Damage Draw. This card allows me to draw two cards from my deck if I take 2000 or more points of damage." Phantom drew two cards from his deck when he suddenly noticed a ray of dark energy coming to hit him directly in the chest towards the one that came from Pandora's Magician Rod.

**_Phantom LP: 2700 - 1600 = 1100_**

"Well done, my sorcerer. With this turn, I have done a delightful amount of damage to your life points. With the next one I will make sure all your points disappear, and with it, I will also make the girl's father suffer." He started laughing. "That is the end of my turn."

It hurt getting up from the ground, but at least Phantom was able to do it. However, the pain was enough to limit his movements. He looked at Yuzu. She was beginning to fear for her father, and fretting over how Yuya was suffering – two people would pay because she couldn't deliver her Pendulum cards.

The Pendulum Duelist looked at her deck, her hands trembling.

"Don't worry. You can put that away. I'll save your father." Yuya said with a smile that hid the pain he was feeling.

"How much longer do you plan to keep lying?" Pandora asked Phantom. "The cards in your hand are not enough. You're not as strong as you claim. Maybe even much less than you expect."

"Quiet." Yuya muttered.

"Oh Phantom, my dear Phantom, you have only defeated scoundrels, the lowest of our ranks. You are no more than a child who plays the vigilante." Pandora said. "But I ask you something, does the girl at least know who you really are?" Yuya froze for a moment.

"Quiet!" This time he spoke a little harsher. Even Yuzu noticed.

"It is interesting. The very name that you chose clearly speaks of who you are. There is nothing on any database about you, nothing about a family, or something we can identify you with. Worst of all, we don't really know your intentions towards attacking our group." His smile grew more. By just seeing their faces, the seeds of mistrust were sown. "At least he must have told you the reason why he fights?"

Yuzu looked at Yuya again. The boy who she believed so blindly didn't have that same confident smile. He was angry with Pandora.

"Stop putting ideas in her head. I'm going to save her father. I owe her."

"Owe her? But you are the only one here who has manipulated her. I have only given her the option to survive. On the other hand, you have only sold her false hopes."

"Shut up-"

Before Phantom yelled, Yuzu spoke. "Who are you really?" Yuya opened his mouth, the question surprising him. "Answer my question, I don't want your childish nonsense. I want a clear answer."

Phantom didn't know how to really answer her. The answer he would give her wouldn't be enough to explain all this. He shifted his gaze to the other side, not being able to face her. He moved his goggles over his eyes so that she didn't have to see his face.

"Girl, this useless boy is just lying to you. You know what you have to do now." He offered his hand, hoping to receive her cards. "Do it for your dad. That happy savior is no good." The Pendulum Duelist approached Pandora. Passing Yuya, she didn't even look at him.

He waited for her with a devilish smile. She pressed her deck to her chest. "I want to know... What are your intentions with my deck?"

Pandora agreed to that question and gave her an answer. "It is clear that we're here to save humanity. No human should have that power that you have."

"I don't know who I really am, I don't have a family or acquaintances. I am alone in this world, but when I met you, you were the first person to interact with me." Phantom's voice was low, almost as if he was crying. "Sorry to disappoint you, but I really wanted to help you."

"You're still talking, little brat. She won't listen to you. Don't you see-" Pandora fell silent as Yuzu hit him with her fan in the face. "Why are you hitting me, girl?" Yuzu looked at him disappointedly and returned to Yuya's field.

"Because you are a liar and a coward. Do you think I'm going to believe what a madman like you tells me?" She yelled at him. "You and whoever the hell you people are captured my father. I'm not going to think for a moment of handing my cards over to hurt more people."

"Damn you, brat! I'm going to make you both suffer."

"Loser." She turned around and then approached Phantom. She looked him in the eyes as she took off his hood, smiling at him. "You are not lying. Your hair is not moving. Thanks for being honest with me this time."

"Seriously?"

"Yes, and that guy clearly lied. His eyes were easy to read and I knew he was lying. What a fool." Yuzu said, but then hit Phantom with her fan.

"Ouch! Why!?" Yuya asked, rubbing the area the girl hit.

"Why didn't you notice that he cheated?" Yuzu said while pointing at Pandora. The wizard's expression changed into immediate concern. "It was easy to notice." Yuzu crossed her arms, a visible smile on her face for having discovered everything.

A puzzled Yuya asked. "How?"

Yuzu responded. "He used something called the Stripper Technique. It involves trimming the edges of certain cards to make them slightly smaller than the other cards in a Deck. When the opponent cuts the Deck, they would inadvertently cut it at the point that one of the trimmed cards would land on top of a small stack, ensuring one of them ends up on top of the entire Deck. Naturally, this counts as physical damage to the cards."

Shivering with fear, Pandora almost hesitated to mutter. "How did you know?"

"Because it's the oldest trick in the book for cheats. It's something I had to learn right away. I only had to deduce the movement of your hands. You are a good magician, that I will tell you. But at the end of the day, you are a false duelist."

The Ilusionist narrowed his eyes and lifted them straight towards the girl. "Damn brat." He exclaimed towards her. "But this foolish friend of yours can't do anything. His hand is useless."

It was true what he said, even if they discovered his secret. No move the duelist made would change the duel. There was no hope, so to speak. But the pendulum was not yet moved in favor of anyone yet.

The flower on Yuzu began to glow an almost pinkish red hue that filled the field. Unusual to see, she held the flower, looked at Yuya and the pendulum around his neck also glowed, albeit a blue hue. The blue color of the girl's eyes shone as did the crimson of Yuya's.

"What's going on?" Pandora asked.

The bright lights began to merge. A shadow peeking out was the most abnormal thing in the situation. "Hahaha!" A laugh that no one knew was heard and then disappeared with the shadow.

The two teens heard a voice, "_Always remember that, even at the worst of times, you can always take a step forward with courage._"

The two lights disappeared. Yuya's cards began to glow and change. Behind them was the image of Pendulum King of Justice. The monster raised its thumb and then disappeared.

The voice she heard was similar to her. "Yusho." Yuzu muttered. She came to herself and then clutched her head. "What happened?" She spoke to Yuya, raising her eyebrows to see Yuya smile, "What did you do now?"

Yuya smiled "I can save your father!"

She was still stunned with everything that happened. "Ehhhh?"

"You can't save anyone, what do you hope to do now?"

Yuya smiled again, all his confidence regained. "You see, with the help of my new assistant-" Yuzu punched him, annoyed at how he was referring to her. She pouted while he smiled to compose himself again. "My new compan-"

Yuzu stopped him again. "Teacher."

Yuya nodded. "Thanks to my teacher, I can do this. With the Scale 1 Stargazer Magician and the Scale 8 Timegazer magician I set my pendulum scales!" Like Yuzu did previously, two huge energy tubes appeared on the field. Two wizards were inside of them.

Yuzu cried out in shock at the revelation, "Phantom can use pendulum!" She immediately looked at the flower. "It was you..."

Pandora was biting his lip, nerves beginning to eat him up because of these new possibilities.

"First off I summon Entermate Skullcrobat Joker to the field." A strange boy in a sorcerer's suit appeared on the field. He himself had a hat with a skull.

**_Entermate Skullcrobat Joker: 1800 ATK/ 100 DEF_**

"I activate Skullcrobat Joker's effect. When summoned, I can add an Entermate monster from my deck to my hand." The card came out of the deck. "I'll add Entermate Hermit Crab."

Yuya was preparing his next move. "Swing, pendulum of souls! Draw an arc of light across the ether! Pendulum Summon! Appear now! My monster servants!" A portal appeared between the two scales." I will summon Entermate Hermit Crab and Entermate Kaleido Scorpion." Two beams of light came out of the portals, revealing two strange creatures: one was a blue crab, which had colored stars, and the other was a colorful scorpion.

**_Entermate Kaleido Scorpion: 100 ATK/ 2300 DEF_**

**_Entermate Hermit Crab Landlord: 500 ATK/ 2500 DEF_**

"The fun has just begun!" He declared. The last monster to be revealed from the last light appeared on the field. "Appear! Wondrous and beautiful dichromatic eyes! Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon!" Two lights – one red and one green – appeared in the darkness behind Phantom.

**_Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon: 2500 ATK / 2000 DEF_**

"Odd Eyes Pendulum Dragon." The surprised pendulum duelist murmured. The name was similar to her new monster ace. Their destinies seemed to be more connected.

Pandora recovered the calm that he had before. He fixed the collar on his suit in addition to the button that he had, a secret communicator murmuring directly into it. "See this? Our enemies are getting stronger."

"Let's do this my servants. Show what you can do." Yuya told his monsters. "You're first, Kaleido Scorpion. I can select a monster on my field, and it can attack all my opponent's special summon monsters." The scorpion raised its shields, as two colorful versions of Odd Eyes materialized.

"It's your job now, Perfomapal Hermit Crab." Phantom winked at the monster. It opened its eyes. "The effect of my new friend allows me to select a pendulum monster on my field and it can gain 300 attack points for each Entermate."

"There are three monsters on your field!" Pandora exclaimed.

**_Odd Eyes Dragon ATK: 2500 900 = 3400_**

"Well, with that, you can finish this duel." Yuzu observed.

"I start my battle phase! Odd Eyes attacks Dark Magician Girl." One of the Odd Eyes clones unleashed a bolt of energy. "When Odd-Eyes destroys a monster in battle, the damage you take from that attack is doubled."

Pandora bit his lip. "I still have a trick up my sleeve. I activate the Action Card Detour!" To add insult to injury, he literally pulled the card out of his sleeve.

"Cheat!" Yuzu yelled.

"But at the end of the day, I'll be the winner."

Yuya wagged his finger, in playful disagreement. "No, due to the pendulum effect of my monsters in the pendulum zone, you cannot activate any Magic or Trap Card effects until the damage step is over." He said. Odd Eyes launched to the top, where he found an Action Card.

Odd Eyes' clone was able to successfully destroy his opponent's Dark Magician, causing the damage he sought.

**_Pandora LP: 4000 – 2800 = 1200_**

"Upon completion of your damage step, I can now use my card." Pandora mentioned. "Say goodbye to the effect of your Odd Eyes!"

"Don't worry. I already have some cards in hand that will protect me. I will activate the Action Card No Action. This card negates the effects of other Action Cards, and at the same time, destroys all of the ones on the field."

"What?!" He screamed as he saw his last hope fade away.

"Let's continue with attack number two, the finale, on your Magician Rod!" The last bolt of lightning went straight towards Pandora's monster, destroying it and his last remaining life points.

**_Pandora LP: 1200 – 3600 = 0_**

The holograms vanished as Pandora fell to his knees, murmuring. "I have lost, my mistresses." At the time this happened, the prisoner box keeping Yuzu's father instantly opened.

On top of that, the other box at Yuya's feet opened automatically. The Pendulum Duelists set their sights on it. Yuzu took in the content of it, then stepped to release Phantom of the mechanism around his neck and thanked him. "You didn't do anything wrong, you're too experienced to be a novice with Pendulum."

Yuzu noticed that Yuya was staring blankly and his eyes were shining with an intense crimson. She tried to speak to him. "Hey, Yuya, wake up."

He shook his head, waking up from the trance while his eyes returned to normal, to face her. "Where am I, Yuzu?" Phantom looked at the defeated Pandora on the ground, then he looked at his duel disk, mumbling under his breath. "I defeated him?"

He felt weight on his shoulder, turning to look at the other Pendulum Duelist who gave him a warm smile. "You did it. You saved my dad. Thanks, Phantom." He did not contain his happiness, tears welling up in his eyes.

The only thing he could say to her was. "Thank you." Yuzu took a handkerchief from her pocket and gave it to him to wipe his tears. He received it with a smile of gratitude.

The tender moment had to end when Yuzu remembered what Pandora said. She moved away from Yuya, and went straight towards Pandora with speed.

"Yuzu, what's up?" Yuya asked absent-mindedly.

"Get my dad out of there. I will see to it that Pandora doesn't die!" She yelled. The boy nodded, running away at full speed after receiving the order.

Yuzu didn't know how much time was left before the device was activated. Her hand trembled when she had held the key due to the fact that she could fail. But she couldn't give up that easily. She closed her eyes, beginning to mumble. "Please make it work." She put the key in the mechanism. Five seconds passed until she adjusted the key. A click was heard as the metal object opened.

She let out a big sigh, holding her chest. "I made it." This man made her go through hell. Why save him? Because even though he did all that, she didn't seek to have his blood on her hands.

Yuya had Yuzu's father on his back. He was too heavy to carry. "This will not help my back. What have you been eating?"

The pendulum duelist did not hear him. Yuzu was more focused on knowing what was happening with Pandora. No matter how much she moved him, he did not react to her attempts, as if his mind was blank. His lifeless pupils confirmed this theory.

But something interesting happened.

"We will return." Words came from the dead body of Pandora, but his voice was no longer the same. It was more somber. "Stronger than ever and you won't stop us."

There was no time to analyze his words because the entire Action Field began to display a strange white energy that left them unable to see for a few seconds. When they opened their eyes again, they were back in the desolate park, wondering whether anything that had happened was even real.

* * *

**_(Miami City)_**

There was an abandoned amusement park, sealed by bars for a future demolition the place, which was indicated by a huge poster at the entrance. No one would dare enter a place like this, at least no one who was smart enough to want to get hurt, but inside, the Genesis Clan lived. It was their headquarters, where they met without being disturbed by the outside world.

Much further into the park was the educational attraction halls that functioned as a hall for clan members to meet each other. It looked like a royal courtroom with everything they needed and a throne where a woman in a white dress was sitting – a powerful queen commanding an army. There was even a chess game on a pedestal for her to show off her strategical prowess.

The Dark Diva was the only face in the room that wasn't staring at the woman sitting on the throne. She tried to stay as calm as she could, not trying to notice any emotion for fear that the woman would scold her for showing some form of weakness.

"Oh, my dear Diva, why do you have to disappoint me?" She said, but it was noticeable that her melancholic tone seemed false. "Maybe you don't see what we're doing here."

She arose from the throne, walking straight to the dark Diva, who was still clinging to the floor. "Why don't you face me? Do you distrust me?"

The Diva got up from the floor and looked directly at her mistress' face to respond. "No, never in life could I distrust you, my lady."

"Then you shouldn't be afraid of me." She was getting too close to her, to the point where it became uncomfortable for the Diva. "Your presence should always bring a smile to my face." The woman grabbed the face of the Diva, pressing in with her nails to the point that it began to hurt the servant. "Perhaps I am the same for you, Diva."

"My lady, please, you're hurting me." She tried to speak but was not heard.

"I gave you everything, to them too, my own lackeys to whom I place my trust but fail me. Why?" She said. "We cannot afford to fail. Reiji Akaba has more power than we expected, and now Pendulum Summoning has been created by that girl and Phantom."

"I will not allow us to have another defeat, my lady."

"I know that. And that is why we will organize a counterattack against LDS. The triumph won't be important, but it is time to confront that man who's trying to destroy my-" Before finishing the sentence, she stopped to think, changing to an expression of annoyance and said something else to finish what she wanted to say. "Our lady's plans." She stopped holding the Diva, dropping her to the ground like she was dirt.

"I'm sorry again, my lady." She turned to apologize, grabbing onto the dress of her owner.

"I know. You all belong to me."

* * *

Grace: "Mr. Reiji, who is that woman?"

Satsuki: "Grace stops stealing so much screentime, there are other characters in the series."

Grace: "But Mr. Reiji told me to present the title of the next chapter."

Reiji: "Stop fighting the two and present the titles."

Grace: "Aye Master Reiji, next time on Yugioh Arc V: Lost Pendulum-" Fight between monarchs. "


	5. Chapter 5

Special thanks to SomnorumLiber,CeleneTheAngel, Antimattering, and the sky and binario.

_**Chapter 5: Duels Of Monarch**_

Reiji stared intensely at the screens in front of him with a measured expression, closely analyzing the data of Phantom's duel against Pandora. 'It would appear that Miss Hiragi isn't the only one who can Pendulum Summon.' He massaged his chin in thought. Phantom had now become even more interesting as a result. Both would also be very good allies to have in the future.

"Yuz- -...Miss Hiragi went to the police station at seven o'clock in the evening." Masumi reported. Her tone barely hid concern for her ex-partner. "She'd tried to report that her father had been kidnapped, and the police made an attempt to capture her before Phantom broke her out...We assume it was the Clan's doing." Masumi showed the footage of the incident. Reiji's eyebrows arched upward at the sudden and absurd destruction left by the elusive Phantom.

Reiji adjusted in his chair before speaking. "Continue monitoring events. There's no doubt they will come for the hostages we have from their organization soon."

Masumi, very confused initially, suddenly gasped at what her boss had planned before she continued. "We've got an update on the interrogation, as well. The ones we have captured are mere pawns, but we're reading their minds right now. The information we've gotten from them isn't conclusive as we would've liked, it's simply seemingly random locations that don't make much sense, but I've already sent some men over to check them out."

Grace then burst in, cheerfully smiling even though she was supposed to alert Mr. Akaba. Reiji, surprised but not shocked, inquired why she was there. To which Grace practically yelled, "The helicopter is ready to take you to the meeting~!"

"Thank you, we'll head there now," Reiji deadpanned. "Yes, Mr. Akaba sir!" Grace chirped, giving a military salute.

Masumi sighed and rolled her eyes. "Let's go, soldier." She said sarcastically, embarrassed at Grace's lack of professionalism.

All three headed to the helicopter hangar at the top of the LDS building. Sure enough, the vehicle was already ready to leave as they had already made plans hours in advance. Including bringing in a special guard to prevent any mishaps from occurring. A woman who worked as one of President Akaba's bodyguards waited for them near the open hangar as was agreed, but the instant the bodyguard stopped Reiji, Masumi suddenly got a bad feeling about the people prepping the helicopter. "Stop, we have to do a check." Reiji fixed his glasses.

The moment the woman got close, Masumi pulled Mr. Akaba behind her and slipped her duel disk her forearm. She had realised something in those few brief moments she had seen the women. "Identify yourself, please." The woman gave a sinister smile. It was more than obvious that the suspicious woman was not part of the company. Masumi pointed a finger. "Identify yourself now! We are not playing games!" She demanded again, also activating her duel disk.

Grace shot her a look. "Masumi, what are you talking about? These people are part of the company." She said, doubting the sanity of the bodyguard.

"I knew you were good, Miss Bodyguard." The mysterious woman chuckled. "I'm not impressed, though. The whole point was to be discovered." Masumi didn't know why someone would want to be discovered. What would that do for them exactly?

The Gem Knight duelist spoke to the stranger. "That doesn't make sense..."

As soon as the words left her mouth, the clothing of the woman disappeared in a flash, like magic or an illusion, to reveal clothing made in Solid Vision. The outfit was strange and futuristic-looking, consisting of a white dress with a blue coat along with a kind of tiara with blue crystals resting on her long crimson hair. "It's Solid Vision?" Grace asked, eyes widening.

"Grace, get away from here. You're not equipped to handle a situation like this. Please take Mister Akaba with you." Masumi ordered, and, waiting for her to leave, turned to her superior "Mister Akab-" She didn't get to finish her sentence before Reiji's hand forced her to turn off her duel disk. "What are you doing?"

Reiji glanced at Masumi with an unreadable expression, and then her time her jaw dropped. "You don't need to deal with this. She's looking for me," Reiji said. "

Sir, are you sure about this?" Questioned Masumi, staring at him in astonishment. It was obviously a trap, which was what bothered the girl the most. "Who's to say she doesn't have something devious planned?" She only received a serious look, reflecting Reiji's feelings, in reply. He was ready for any challenge.

Reiji adjusted his glasses, shifting his gaze to the woman. "She's different than with the other members. I want to know her intentions," he said to Masumi. Reiji was considered one of, if not the most enigmatic people Masumi had ever met. She rarely knew what his intentions were, especially since they seemed to change on a dime. But this time was different. Reiji Akaba was interested in something, and Masumi knew she should just keep quiet and comply with his orders without question.

The Gem Knight duelist turned off her duel disk, leaving it to Reiji to continue as she was lowered the head and left the area before he continued. "I will handle any attempts at foul play. Be careful."

"You're still here?" Masumi whispered to Grace in disbelief. "Get out of here the moment you can!"

"It is also my job to make sure that Mr. Akaba is okay! You're not the only one!" Grace cried, she considered herself important to their work.

Masumi sighed at the rise in volume. "You're an idiot," She hissed, "Don't-"

"Let her be Masumi," Reiji cut her off. "This only proves that she can be trusted when the situation warrants it." He stared Grace down. "I hope you know to keep this secret, Grace. What you'll see here cannot be discovered by anyone." He turned back to the mysterious woman, who was watching the events with slight interest. "This will be the place where we will have our duel," Reiji stated. The woman raised a brow.

"This doesn't seem like a place someone would have a duel." She said, pretending not to know what was going on. "Where's all the fancy technology?" Reiji, tired of the woman's attitude, activated the action field creator in his duel disk. The field immediately changed. It became a huge arena that replicated a popular gladiator ring, filled with traps and platforms for manoeuvres and getting action cards. The two women with Reiji watched from a safe place near where the spectators were sitting. A holographic barrier prevented any interference.

"You know about my technology. I congratulate you on such a feat. Now, show me if you're able to become my equal."

The woman immediately activated her disk duel as the wind lifted her cloak. "My name is Satsuki. I am the guild leader of Genesis. A pleasure to meet you, Akaba Reiji."

Reiji adjusted his glasses. He looked at her again and spoke this time. "Satsuki, your people are despicable. You have ruined my city for the last time." He activated his duel disk. A second later they both shouted, "Duel!"

"I'll start first," Said Reiji, taking a card from his hand and placing it back into his Duel Disk. "I activate, Dark Contract with the Gate. I then activate its effect, which allows me to add a D/D monster from my deck to my hand. I add to D/D Berfomet."

Masumi was focused on how the woman was still smiling. She was surprised by how this woman exudes such amazing confidence. She could predict that Satsuki had no fear of Reiji, even when everyone, including herself, feared Reiji's powerful and terrifying strategies.

"I then activate Dark Contract with the Swamp from my hand." A third card appeared on the field. "By activating Dark Contract with the Swamp King, I can use fusion materials from my hand or field for the summoning of a D/D/D fusion monster in my extra deck."

"Interesting, fusion-summoning so quickly," Satsuki said, massaging her chin and smiling.

Reiji continued with his turn.

"I use D/D Lilith and D/D Berfomet in my hand." He showed the cards from his hands. "Hellhound that bares shining fangs, vamp of the dark night! In a whirlpool of light from the realm of the dead, become one and give birth to a new king." He clasped his hands together above his head then brought them down in front of him in a swift motion. "Fusion Summon! Come forth! DDD Raging Inferno King - Temujin!" A strange-looking monster appeared, bathed in flames, a warrior carrying a sword and shield.

DDD Raging Inferno King – Temujin 2000ATK/1500 DEF Level 6/ Fiend / Fusion / Effect.

"I place two cards face-down and end my turn." At the end of his turn, Reiji adjusted his glasses. Masumi and Grace looked at him. He gave a small gesture to Masumi, indicated that she should record this duel.

"Draw. I normal summon Avratias White Rook in attack mode." A huge pillar of rock formed on her side of the field. A huge warrior made of rock appeared on the field, forming from the pillar.

Avratias White Rook 1000ATK/1000 DEF Level 4/Fairy/Effect/ LIGHT

"Rook's effect: When I normal summon him, I can special summon another Rook." A second Rook appeared next to the first. "Then, because I have an Avratias monster on the field, I can special summon an Avratias White Pawn to the field." Another soldier appeared carrying a spear and a shield in his hands and wearing a suit of white armor.

Avratias White Pawn 0ATK/1000 DEF /Fairy, Level 4, Effect, LIGHT.

"That's strange." Grace muttered when she saw Satsuki's monsters. "It's a deck based on chess pieces."

"Perhaps she's fond of chess, or she's pretentious enough to use that deck to get attention," Masumi said, analyzing the personality of the woman.

"But Masumi, you also play a deck that reflects your profession. It doesn't mean that you are pretentious." Grace grinned at the ironic words of the Gem Knight duelist. Masumi just stayed quiet, blushing and pouting at Grace's statement.

"Your bodyguard is right. My deck is based on my love for chess and my self-centred personality." Satsuki said openly, no traces of sarcasm in her words. "But my love for a good game has nothing on my desire to dominate my opponent."

"Are you enjoying all of this, then?" Reiji broke the silence.

Satsuki smiled in response, "This game is interesting. Someone always wins or loses, and that speaks to the root of human nature."

Reiji understood her point. "Someone always wins or loses in the end."

"Exactly. That fact is true about everything that we do. From a man who fights to keep his family to the small creature that struggles to survive every day."

"Do you enjoy that?"

"No, I only find it interesting."

"She as pretentious as Mister Akaba," Grace joked. Even when Masumi did not agree with the jokey attitude of the girl, she had to admit there was truth to her words.

"Reiji," Masumi whispered. The tension in the duel would decide many things.

"Continuing my turn, I XYZ summon with the three Level 4 monsters on my field." A purple and gold galaxy formed above them, the monsters becoming balls of light and flying into it. "Avartias White King, swing your grand sword and axe and destroy my enemies!" She said as the galaxy exploded. "XYZ Summon, level 4, Avratias White King." From the mist appeared a huge king made of white rock, carrying a huge axe. When it landed on the ground, the whole field shook.

Avratias White King 3500ATK/1000 DEF Fairy/Light/ Rank 4/Effect.

"It has three materials for its XYZ summon." The Gem Knight duelist's mouth hung open in surprise, and she could only whisper "Amazing."

Despite being a powerful Rank 4 monster, the monster was hiding another secret, which Satsuki was about to reveal. "My White King's effect activates: my opponent can special summon a monster to their field, ignoring the summoning conditions."

At the same time, the three members of LDS shouted a unison cry of confusion. "That's it!?"

"You can summon a monster from your deck. Consider it a sample of my respect towards you." Satsuki said exaggeratedly, showing her dark side.

"There's a catch to this," Reiji claimed. An effect that is so beneficial to the adversary only meant danger, and Reiji was not a man who took risks lightly.

Satsuki once again felt admiration for the young entrepreneur. "That's true, so why not tell you all at once? The monster summoned to your side of the field cannot be destroyed unless it is the only monster left on the field. When there are no other monsters on the field, that monster will be destroyed, and the owner of that monster will lose 3500 life points."

The president of the LDS immediately realize how Satsuki's card worked. "It is not just the aesthetics of chess but also the same rules that determine the game." He bit his lip. He had to accept Satsuki's move and continue the turn. "I choose D/D/D Doom King Armageddon." He placed his King on his disk duel after he took it out of his deck. A piece of rock emerged from the soil, revealing a huge head. Reiji's ace monster came out and stood next to him.

D/D/D Doom King Armageddon 3000ATK/2500 DEF Level 8/ Fiend / Effect.

Her strategy was suicidal. How could she win with that monster on Reiji's field? This would only complicate this game for her. Masumi pondered the woman's play. Her strategy was reckless, but she played it with such confidence. "It's my battle phase. Avratias White King attacks Temujin," Satsuki ordered her monster. Reiji took action immediately. "I use my trap card, Dark Contract with the Witch." An aura surrounded all of Reiji's monsters. "All my Fiend type monsters get a boost of one thousand attack points."

DDD Raging Inferno King – Temujin ATK: 2000+1000=3000

D/D/D Doom King Armageddon: 3000+1000=4000

That still did not stop the White King's attack. He swung his mighty axe and hit Temujin. Both monsters faced off, but Reiji's monster is not powerful enough, Temujin succumbing to the power of the White King. Reiji watched as his monster was destroyed and his life points decreased. He adjusted his glasses, not surprised by the destruction of his monster. Reiji calmly looked on at the situation.

Reiji LP: 8000-500=7500.

Satsuki smiled in a way that felt quite flattering, even to a cold opponent like Reiji. "As a result of my Dark Contract with the Witch, the effect of Contract Laundering is activated. I destroy all the Dark Contracts on my field." The cards were destroyed. "Then I draw a card for each of my Dark Contracts that were destroyed along with increasing my life points."

Reiji LP: 7500+3000=10500

"Well," Masumi said happily. Grace didn't understand what was happening and asked Masumi why she was happy. "By destroying the cards, it means you will not be able to use them next turn."

"Yes, but he won't have to suffer the consequences of the Dark Contracts, and he also has a new hand, so he has more advantage." Grace was amazed. She smiled at the new possibility that her boss could win the duel.

"Interesting move. I made a mistake in attacking first." She took three cards from her hand and inserted them into her disk duel facedown. "I end my turn."

Reiji began his turn, drawing a card from his deck. "Allure of Darkness's effect." He activated a spell card. "I draw two cards from my deck and banish a Dark monster from hand." He drew cards and banished Necro Slime. Then, he summoned D/D Nighthowl, and it appeared on the field.

D/D Nighthowl 300 ATK/600 DEF Level 3/ Fiend/ Tuner/ Effect.

"The effect of Nighthowl: When it's normal summoned, I can special summon a D/D monster from my graveyard. I special summon D/D Lilith." A portal opened and a snake woman appeared on the field.

D/D Lilith 100 ATK/2100 DEF Level 4/ Fiend / Effect.

"Lilith's effect is activated. I can add a D/D monster from my graveyard to my hand. I add D/D Berformet!" Exclaimed Reiji. "I now Synchro summon with Lilith and Nighthowl." The level stars inside of Nighthowl transformed into rings, Lilith flew through them to make a total of seven stars. "Howl that tears through the night. Take the swift gale and become the cries of a newborn king! Synchro Summon! Come! Level 7 DDD Gale King - Alexander!" The new monster Synchro appeared, slicing open the sky with his sword.

D/D/D Gale King – Alexander 2500 ATK/2000 DEF Level 7/ Fiend / Synchro/ Effect.

"I discard Swirl Slime from my hand to activate its effect, I can use it as material for a fusion summon with a D/D monster in my hand. I choose to Vice Typhon." He sent both monsters to his graveyard.

"Another fusion." Mumbled Satsuki.

"I use my Level 2 Swirl Slime and Level 7 D/D/D Vice Typhon in my hand to create my ultimate monster! Fusion Summon!" He clasped his hands together above his head, then brought them down in a swift motion in front of him. "Proud knight, be absorbed into the crucible of disaster. Be reborn into a new king! Fusion Summon! Come forth, the ruler who carriers the glory of God! DDD Oracle King D'Arc!" The wings of the demon opened as he raised his sword into the air while giving a war cry.

D/D/D Oracle King D'Arc 2800 ATK/2000 DEF Level 8/ Fiend / Fusion/ Effect.

"I activate the effect of my Alexander!"

"No, you don't!" Satsuki acted immediately. A card lifted from its face-down position on her field. "When you activate the effect of your monster, my trap card Avratias Check-in Counter allows me to negate the effect of that card and destroy it if I have an XYZ monster on my field!" White King sliced Alexander in half.

Cornered, Reiji used another move. "Then, I activate the effect of Vice Typhon in my graveyard."

Satsuki moved her finger and smiled. She already had a countermeasure against Reiji's move. "I activate the Silent Graveyard. By discarding a card from my hand, and it stops the effect of your Vice Typhoon."

Masumi bit her lip. The situation was getting worse. "I activate the effect of the Check-in Counter from the graveyard: I can banish it and special summon an Avratias monster from my graveyard. I special summon Avratias White Bishop in defense mode I sent to the graveyard moments ago." Another rock monster appeared from the floor. It was like a cleric made entirely of stone.

Avratias White Bishop 1200 ATK/1100 DEF /Fairy, Level 3, Effect, Light.

"I'll attack, then. D'Arc, destroy her Bishop." The monster charged with his sword pointed towards the Bishop.

But yet again, Satsuki was ready a way to counter Reiji's play. "I activate my trap card, Avratias Boden Mate. This card allows me to destroy a monster that is within two zones of an Avratias monster. Say goodbye to your God Arc." White King blocked the sword of D'Arc and defeated it with ease due to its enormous size. "Now that zone will become unusable."

"I attack with King Armageddon." The monster launched an energy beam and was able to destroy the second of Satsuki's monsters. "I place a card face-down and end my turn."

"Then I'll start my turn." She elegantly drew a card from her deck and smiled a macabre smile like no other. "I have secured my victory in this duel. I active the field spell Avratias Alkaline Castle." She placed the card into her Duel Disk. "Alkaline Castle increases the attack of my monster by 500 points."

Avratias White King ATK: 3500+500=4000.

"Impossible, it already had more attack points than Reiji's monster!" Grace cried.

"He attacks your Doom Armageddon." The king moved toward Reiji's monster, and in a matter of seconds, he struck a direct blow with his axe, breaking the monster into thousands of pieces, some of which fell straight onto Reiji and covered him.

Reiji LP: 10500-1000=9500.

"Now I activate the effect of my White King." Reiji looked at the monster in front of him. White King's axe was lifted high as he awaited the order of his owner before finally delivering the final blow. Satsuki's smile grew more macabre. "With only a simple order, everything will end. Isn't that interesting?" She asked Reiji. Her laughter became so deranged that it began to produce fear in the onlookers.

Masumi had a realization. "This woman..." She muttered, cradling her face in terror. "She's a complete psychopath..."

"Final Order." The king dropped his axe to the ground, creating a huge shockwave knocked Reiji into the wall of Solid Vision.

Reiji LP: 9500-3500=6000.

"Reiji!" Grace cried.

"I should not enjoy this, but I will anyway." Even though her victory was not assured, Reiji's opponent still had life points to spare. She enjoyed watching her enemies being crushed and had paid no price so far. "I end my turn."

"Reiji..." Grace spoke in a low voice filled with fear and worry, and Masumi bit her thumb, an anxious habit she had developed while working in LDS.

Reiji stood up and became aware of a presence behind him. "Why are you here? We are already at the climax."

The women in the stadium were astonished, all concluding that Reiji was going crazy with the possibility of defeat.

"I have no interest in your jokes right now. Now, answer my question."

Satsuki said. "Who are you talking to?"

"You think that I'm going crazy?" Reiji adjusted his glasses and sighed.

"I always cause problems." What none of the women could see was the ghost behind Reiji, the spectre known as Adam. "Your performance should be better." He looked with at the field, disappointedly shaking his head. "I think that if you want to make this easier, try to flirt with her."

"It's as if you don't care about the wounds you received. Incredible." Grace mumbled. It was not a good time to joke about Reiji's love life. It's never a good time for that.

"I need your help."

"I understand." Then he shook his head, interlocking his fingers, and the extra deck of Reiji began to shine. "Your new monster is ready according to your specifications. I hope that you understand how complicated it will be to use it. The Adam factor is not exactly perfect."

Reiji watched as the new card was obtained. With that, Reiji could win the duel.

"Draw." He began his turn without warning. "I active my face-down card, D/D Human Resource." The card rose from its face-down position. "I return three D/D monsters from my graveyard to my deck. Then, I shuffle and add two D/D monster to my hand. I summon D/D Nighthowl back to the field."

"Why did he bring back Nighthowl?" Masumi thought to herself.

"Nightowl's effect: I bring my Genghis from the graveyard." The fire monster appeared again.

"I banish Swirl Slime from my graveyard to activate his effect: I summon a D/D Berfomet from my hand." The demon-beast, a mess of various parts of different animals, arrived on Reiji's field.

D/D Berfomet 1400 ATK/ 1800 DEF Level 4/ Fiend / Effect.

"Genghis' effect activates: I can special summon a D/D monster from my graveyard when a monster is special summoned to the field. I summon my Doom King back to the field." His Ace Monster returned to the field.

"What the hell is Reiji planning to do?" Wondered Grace.

"Berfomet's effect: I turn Genghis into a Level 8 monster."

D/D/D Genghis Level: 8

"I Synchro summon with Nightowl and Berfomet to bring back to D/D/D Gale King." Reiji's monster appeared on the field. "I activate Burial from a Different Dimension: I return three banished monsters to the graveyard." Among the three banished cards were his two slime monsters. "I banish Necro slime and activate its effect: I send him and Nighthowl to my graveyard to bring D'Arc back." The knight demon appeared again on the field.

"I overlay Level 8 Doom King Armageddon with my Level 8 King Ghengis!" A purple and gold galaxy formed above them as both monsters flew into it as balls of light. "Xyz Summon!" Reiji said. "When two suns rise, the horizon of a new world shall open! Xyz Summon!" The galaxy exploded. "Appear, Rank 8! DDD Twin Dawn King Kali Yuga!" A huge monster sitting on a floating throne appeared in the aftermath of the explosion. The large, imposing figure floated to Reiji's side of the field.

D/D/D Duo King Kali Yuga 3500ATK/3000 DEF/ Rank 8/ Fiend / Effect.

"Amazing!" Grace whispered, astonished at Reiji's new monster.

"Kali Yuga effect activates: all cards on the field have their effects negated for the remainder of the turn." A wave was created by Kali Yuya that paralyzed all the monsters and turned the spell and trap cards to stone. "Then I remove one overlay unit: all spell and trap cards will be destroyed, and I put a Dark contract card in my graveyard for each one destroyed." The field spell was destroyed.

Satsuki watched as her card destroyed, knowing full-well that it was the only defense that protected her monster. Her imminent defeat was easy to see.

Avratias White King ATK: 3500.

"I attack. Kali Yuga, destroy her White King."

"But they both have the same attack?" Grace stated the obvious fact in alarm.

"Exactly," Masumi replied. She was enjoying Satsuki's reaction far too much. "Well done, Reiji." White King raised his axe to attack Duo King, who also launched a beam of energy from his hands. Both attacks hit their targets, and both monsters were destroyed. Satsuki was protected from the destruction of her monster and covered her face with her arms.

Satsuki LP: 8000-3500=4500.

"I'll finish you with my last two servants." D'Arc and Alexander raised their swords, D'Arc struck first, hitting Satsuki in the chest. After that, Alexander attacked Satsuki as well, causing her to fly into the wall.

Satsuki LP: 4500-4500=0

"Well done boy. You've won the battle." Adam congratulated Reiji, though Reiji didn't know if Adam was joking or being serious.

"Well done, chief!' The secretary jumped with joy. Finally, the nightmare had ended, and things could return to normal. Masumi did not share the same feeling even though she was previously joyous about Reiji's victory.

"Grace," Reiji ignored her while the virtual field disappeared in front of them. He looked at the woman on the floor. He knew that the damage done was enough to send her to the other world. "You can stand up. Nobody believes that you're dead." He said to the limp form of Satsuki.

She got up slowly, sore from the blows she had received. She laughed like her defeat did not matter. She looked at Reiji's face. "A worthy rival. Two monarchs finally squaring off in a game of power."

Reiji understood what Satsuki was telling him, though the president of LDS didn't care to be a rival to Satsuki the psychopath. "As they said long ago, he who has power can change the world to his will."

"You have not deciphered everything completely. I, too, remember that other life." This confused Reiji. It would be impossible for this person-no, he should focus on what was most important.

"Is that why you have your agents watching Hiragi Yuzu?" Reiji mentioned, pressing a button on his disk that materialized a screen showing an image of the Hiragi residence. "I have an order against you and your people." Satsuki raised an eyebrow.

"What do you mean by that?"

"Start the elimination plan." Reiji gave the direct order from his Duel Disk to a member of his corporation.

The Gem Knight duelist was left with wide eyes, shocked at the order. It was the first time she'd heard anything like it. "Mr. Akaba..." Confused, she turned to her boss. "What do you mean by an 'elimination plan'?"

Reiji looked straight ahead. "An order to make sure that her clan does not obtain what they're looking for." That said, he held his face. Masumi thought she imagined Reiji's hand beginning to tremble. "Right now, the Hiragi girl and Phantom are in the safe zone," he said to those present.

With that statement, chaos broke out. "Why?" Masumi was completely shocked.

Satsuki then began to laugh, impressed by her enemy, and one other thing in particular. "Keep away from Hiragi Yuzu and Phantom." Reiji commanded. "If you do not, I will push the button. This is my last warning."

Satsuki sighed. It had been a long time since she had been so excited about someone. "I can already see you play this game well." Reiji didn't respond. "I shall accept your offer, young entrepreneur." She bowed in respect, accepting her defeat. "Plan your next move well. Things are about to get even more interesting." A portal of white opened behind the woman. The brightness caused the LDS members to cover their eyes, and when they were able to look again, the woman had disappeared.

"Mister Reiji, what an achievement!" Grace approached him to congratulate him, but when she saw that there was no reaction from him, she insisted on knowing that happened to him. "It happened-" Reiji fell into Grace. "What happened?" She was alarmed by the sudden fall and couldn't support Reiji's weight.

"Masumi, I need your help." The Gem Knight duelist wasn't listening to the cries of the secretary.

She was concentrating on what she'd just witnessed. The man she admired most about almost committed an act of murder. Her heart began to beat quicker, and her hands trembled. 'Can I continue to believe in this man? What would happen if he decided to use me as a shield the next time?' Doubts began to cloud her mind. Could she continue to trust this man? 'But he allowed me to fight against the clan. I cannot break my word. There is no one else that can stand up to the clan.' She would begin to pick up the pieces for Reiji, accepting the fact that she will have to get her hands dirty to win the war.

* * *

_**Oc cards:**_

_**Avratias White Rook  
Fairy, Level 4, Effect, LIGHT, ATK / DEF 1000/1000  
When this card is Normal or Special Summoned: Summon 1 "Avratias Rook" from your Deck. You can banish this card from your GY (Quick Effect); until the end of this turn's Battle Phase, an opponent's monster cannot attack an Xyz Monster you control in a different column from itself. You can only use each effect of "Avratias Rook" once per turn.**_

_**Avratias White Pawn  
Fairy, Level 4, Effect, LIGHT, ATK / DEF 0/1000  
If you control an "Avratias" monster, except "Avratias White Pawn": You can Special Summon this card from your hand. During your Main Phase: You can banish this card from your GY; Special Summon 1 Level 4 or lower "Avratias" monster except "Avratias White Pawn" from your GY in Defense Position. You can only use each effect of "Avratias White Pawn" once per turn.**_

_**Avratias White Bishop**_  
_**Fairy, Level 3, Effect, LIGHT, ATK/DEF 1200/1100  
If your LP are higher than your opponent's: You can pay 500 LP; Special Summon 2 "Avratias Tokens" (Fairy/LIGHT/Level 1/ATK 0/DEF 0) in Defense Position. You can only use this effect of "Avratias Bishop" once per turn.**_

_**Avratias White King  
Fairy, Rank 4, Effect, LIGHT, ATK / DEF 3500/1000  
3 Level 4 "Avratias" monsters  
This card's Xyz Summon cannot be negated. When this card is Xyz Summoned: Your opponent chooses 1 monster from their Main Deck or Extra Deck; Special Summon that monster to your opponent's field, ignoring its Summoning conditions. If the opponent's monster Summoned by this effect leaves the field, your opponent loses 3500 LP. If this card leaves the field, you lose 3500 LP. This card and the opponent's monster Special Summoned by this card's effect cannot be destroyed unless they are the only monster their owner controls. When this card is targeted by an opponent's card effect: You can detach 1 Xyz Material from this card; negate the effect, and if you do, destroy 1 card your opponent controls.**_

_**Avratias Alekhine's Castle  
Field Spell Card  
"Avratias" monsters you control gain 500 ATK and cannot be destroyed by your opponent's card effects once per turn. Once per turn, while you control 1 "Avratias" monster: You can target 2 "Avratias" monsters in your GY; Special Summon those targets in Defense Position, but their ATK and DEF become 0 and have their effects negated, also destroy them during the End Phase.**_

_**Avratias Boden's Mate  
Normal Trap Card  
Target 1 opponent's monster in a column between 2 columns occupied by 2 "Avratias" monsters you control; destroy that opponent's monster, and if you do, your opponent cannot use that column until the end of their next turn.**_

_**Avratias Cross-Check Counter  
Trap Card  
When a Spell/Trap Card, or monster effect, is activated while you control an "Avratias" Xyz Monster: Negate that activation, and if you do, destroy that card. If this only monster you control is an "Avratias" Xyz Monster: You can banish this card from your GY and target 1 "Avratias" monster in your Graveyard; Special Summon that target, but banish it when it leaves the field.**_

_**Avratias Illegal Position  
Normal Spell Card  
Activate only while you control an "Avratias" Xyz Monster. Target 2 monsters your opponent controls in adjacent Monster Zones; destroy the first monster targeted by this effect, and if you do, move the second target to the zone the first monster occupied.**_


	6. Chapter 6

_**First, I have to thank Antimattering and And Them the sky for helping me write this, since from now on they will be in charge of writing the series, I will still give ideas because the last few months it has been difficult to write the story for My, my lack of not knowing English makes things complicated for me and things in real life are not being that easy either.**_

_**Please follow their stories they are very good.**_

* * *

_**Chapter 6: Entertrainers duels.**_

Yuya's snores thundered out of the guest room, the boy sleeping peacefully despite everything that had gone on over the past few days. In truth, he was just satisfied to have a bed to sleep in now. Much better than a park bench.

He chewed at the top of the pillow squished between his arms, mumbling something about pancakes and Yuzu reflective of the apparently pleasant dream he was having. However, he was swiftly pulled back into reality, the door slamming against the wall as it was shoved open. Barely even having time to jolt upright, Yuya was sent off the bed entirely after a paper fan smacked him in the face, screaming incoherently the entire time.

"Quit yelling," Yuzu told him, shushing Yuya as he flopped around on the ground. "You're going to wake up the neighbors."

Yuya lifted himself from the floor, holding his cheek and narrowing his eyes at Yuzu. "You're the one who came running in here. I thought I was about to die."

"Well, it's my house," she shrugged, though she was beginning to get the feeling she overreacted a bit. Still, she couldn't admit defeat, crossing her arms in defiance and refusing to back down.

Grumbling, Yuya collected himself and stretched his arms out. Spying the Time Wizard alarm clock on a nearby shelf, he realized just how early it was. "Why are you waking me up right now? It's four in the morning." He stopped short of saying anything else as the fan was brandished in his face once more.

"Did you forget your promise already?" Yuzu asked, mere moments away from disciplining him again.

A few seconds passed as the gears inside his head turned. "Oh!" he exclaimed. "Right, right, I get it." They were going to practice Pendulum Summoning. But before that, he'd have to get changed out of his loaner pajamas.

With a scream, Yuzu smacked him over the head with the fan, stopping him just seconds before he dropped his pants in front of her. "Hey, now you're yelling!" Yuya shouted back, hit again for still not getting the message.

One (private) change of clothes and a light breakfast later and the two made their way to the arena. However, Yuya wouldn't be participating in these first few tests, Yuzu's father having volunteered to act as the test dummy for the time being. Yuya merely worked the control panel for the Action Field.

Though he was tasked with taking notes on any advancements these tests made in figuring out the mystery of Pendulum Summoning, Yuya found this task to be exceedingly boring. He felt the same about the stop and start "dueling" on display from the two so far, neither playing seriously as they tried to maneuver Yuzu into the position to test her Pendulum Monsters. Rather than pay attention to them, his focus was firmly on the pendant around his neck as it waved back and forth.

Neither of the Hiragis noticed him slacking off, too focused on the task at hand. On Shuzo's field, he had an assortment of his trademark Gutsmaster monsters. With the three representing the sports of soccer, kendo, and rugby, they stood tall against an empty opposing field.

"Alright, Yuzu!" Shuzo yelled, his enthusiasm boiling over. "Show me your hotblooded attitude!"

Yuzu sighed, shaking her head. "Dad, let me think first." He was always so embarrassing when he tried to be supportive.

"Ah, sorry!" he said, still pumping his fist. "You can do it!"

Groaning, Yuzu ignored him to focus on her hand. As the 42nd attempt this day, she was now more or less familiar with the cards in this new deck. That said, her current attempts at figuring out the specifics of what made Pendulum Summoning work were still proving to be as elusive as ever when she wasn't blacked out.

Now or never, though. Taking two of the cards, she announced, "Get ready, I'm going to set the Pendulum Scales with these two cards!" She placed one at either end of her duel disk as had been done countless times before. No problems so far. They were even materializing behind her as holograms now.

As Shuzo celebrated this minor victory, Yuzu took a glance over her shoulder towards the control box. "Hey, keep writing!" she shouted at Yuya, startling him enough to fall back in his chair. After she could see him collect himself and at least pretend to start taking more notes, she moved on to the next part.

"Now, I Pendulum Summon!" Taking another two cards, she laid them into the Monster Zones. "Appear, Pendulum King of Justice, White Carnation!" Raising her hand, she attempted to call out the monsters, a loud buzzing noise coming from the duel disk's speaker in place of more holograms. Looks like another illegal move.

Stomping her foot, Yuzu muttered out an, "Again?" It just kept happening.

"Hey, look!" Yuya's voice said from the intercom. "Something's happening up there!" A portal appeared between her two monsters in the Pendulum Zones, energy blasting from it as White Carnation appeared on the field. Apparently, she had Summoned something.

Rather than celebrate, this only frustrated Yuzu even more. Lifting up the Pendulum King card, she squinted at it. What was different about this one compared to the other? "I thought for sure it was going to work now."

"Yuzu," her father spoke, approaching from the other side of the field. She looked up, hoping maybe he had some genuine words of encouragement he was about to lay on her. Instead, he seemed to have an observation. "I think I noticed something. Those numbers on your Pendulum Monsters...they mean something, don't they?"

Goofy as he might be, Shuzo was still a competent pro duelist. Just as he'd said, the numbers enshrined on the red and blue crystal designs on the cards did appear to have some significance. They weren't just an artistic detail; no, they had to mean something. Why else would they be different? That would be like saying a high-Level monster was only high-Level for the aesthetic.

Level. Could that have something to do with it? It was worth a shot. "Dad," Yuzu said after a prolonged silence. "I'm ending my turn. Destroy White Carnation next."

He nodded, not fully understanding what kind of revelation she might have made but trusting her instincts nonetheless. "Got it. Gutsmaster Heat, attack White Carnation!" His monster tackled Yuzu's, destroying it and inflicting a meager amount of damage. "Turn end. Show me your hotblooded discovery, Yuzu! I believe in you!"

Starting a new turn, Yuzu went ahead with another Pendulum Summon attempt. "Come back, White Carnation! And I'll also Pendulum Summon EN-Angel Anemone!" Another burst of energy exploded from the portal, both monsters now appearing in front of her on the field.

"Hey, she actually did it," Yuya commented, still not taking notes but paying more attention than before.

"You did it!" Shuzo cried. "I knew you could do it!"

"It's because of your help, dad," Yuzu told him. "You were right about the numbers. Look." She took the cards from her Pendulum Zones and held them up. "See, Mozarta isn't a Level 1, but that's what's on this space. And Floral Prince is Level 6, not 5. That means these Pendulum Scales must be something totally different."

"I see, I see." He was doing his best to follow along, but he was also born during a time when the most advanced tactic was Special Summoning with card effects once or twice per turn.

"So I got the idea that maybe they were depending on each other," she continued. "And I was right! You can only Pendulum Summon a monster that has a Level between the Pendulum Scales. It was that simple all along."

"Ah, so that's why Pendulum King wouldn't come out!" He was starting to get it.

Yuzu nodded. "Right." Turning back, she shouted up at Yuya. "Hey, are you writing this down!"

"I am, I swear!" he replied, furiously scribbling what she'd just explained.

"Now we finally know how it works," Shuzo declared. "But there's still one thing I'm not understanding. Yuzu, how did White Carnation come back? I destroyed it. Does that mean you can even Pendulum Summon from the Graveyard?"

She shook her head. "I noticed it before," she said. "Whenever a Pendulum Monster was destroyed, it was automatically added to my Extra Deck. I think that means that Pendulum Monsters on the field always go there instead of the Graveyard. And as long as their Levels are right, you can keep bringing them back over and over!"

"Wow, you already figured all of that out," he said in awe of his daughter's progress. "You've come so far in so little time. It's...it's…" He clenched his fists hard enough for them to shake. "It's amazing! I've never felt so hotblooded!"

"Okay, settle down," she said, waving her hands in front of him.

"How can I calm down, though?" he asked. "My wonderful daughter has mastered the art of Pendulum Summon! Now all that's left to do is show everyone how it's done! We'll put You Show back on the map in no time!"

"As long as we follow my plan, that is," Yuzu added with a smirk.

"Plan? What plan." His daughter hadn't discussed a plan with him before.

Instead of answering him directly, Yuzu turned back to Yuya once more as he doodled a crude Odd-Eyes onto the notepad. Whatever her plan was, it definitely relied on him to work out.

Noticing that they were both focused on him now, Yuya grumbled, finally saying, "I wrote it all down, okay! What else do I need to do?"

* * *

A week passed. During that time, the two duelists were hard at work not only with training but advertising. Posters and word of mouth spread throughout Maiami City, all of it pointing people in the direction of You Show Duel School.

Apparently, the Phantom was going to show up there. Rumor had it that the girl from the event who made that new Summoning technique had been calling him out. Since she obviously had no way to contact him directly, that must have been why there were so many posters around town.

While plenty of people were skeptical of both this duel and even Phantom's existence, it didn't stop curiosity from drawing in the largest crowd You Show had seen in years. More than anything, though, people just wanted another look at those Pendulum cards.

"Okay, right this way!" Shuzo announced from a plastic megaphone. "One at a time! Take your seats! Plenty of room for everyone to see this hotblooded grudge match!" Despite his best attempts to keep control of the crowd, he was quickly losing ground and ended up trampled as their excitement continued to grow.

Backstage, Yuzu and Yuya were preparing for the show. No one from outside would spot them here so they didn't have to worry about breaking character or explaining what would definitely be an awkward situation.

"Man, this is really tight," Yuya lamented as he tugged a colorful clown costume onto himself. Despite that, he was kind of enjoying how he looked after getting a look in the mirror. Red was definitely his color.

"Solid Vision will take care of that," Yuzu told him as she placed a jingly red hat on top of his head. "It should compensate for things that don't fit a little, so you'll be able to move around."

"Wow, even I didn't know the system was that advanced," he said, flicking one of the bells on his hat.

"It should hide your identity, too," Yuzu added, placing a laughing theater mask over her face for emphasis. "And you'll still get to look like a villain, though I'm not sure all those stars make you seem that dangerous."

Yuya shrugged. "Maybe I'm really just a misunderstood hero forced to make hard choices for the greater good," he mused.

"No, you have to be a real villain," she told him. That was the image LDS had made for him, after all. If he was to convincingly play...himself out there, he'd have to conform to what the crowd expected. "That's what it says in the script," she added. "Which you read."

The long pause that followed betrayed him almost immediately. "I mean, I read about half of it," he muttered. Watching as her rage began to build because of this, Yuya had to think quickly to avoid the fan. "Okay, fine, less than half," he corrected himself. Maybe telling the truth would make it better.

Though he was braced for an attack, it didn't come. Instead, Yuzu sighed and took a few steps over to another chair nearby. Sitting down, she crossed her arms and grumbled, "Fine, then we'll improvise."

"Yeah, like always," Yuya agreed, wrongly assuming all had been forgiven. "I work better without a script, you know. I'm flexible."

"Whatever," Yuzu said. "All that matters is getting people to enroll."

"And making them smile," Yuya added cheerfully. Yuzu didn't give him a response, unsettling him a bit. "That's what Yusho Sakaki would want, you know. That's why he started this school."

Yuzu was not impressed by his carefree optimism. "That's nice, but you can't pay the bills with smiles. That's why there's fees to attend class."

"Sure, but-"

"Let's go," Yuzu interrupted, standing back up and heading towards the door. "It's time to start the show."

It took Yuya a moment to collect himself and follow behind, stunned to see this side of Yuzu emerge before a show. How could someone who learned to duel in the style of Yusho Sakaki seem to disregard the importance of making the audience smile? What happened to the girl he'd met performing in the park, the joy he saw in those movements and the dedication she'd displayed at impressing everyone who watched? Had it all just been a ploy for recruitment after all?

Beyond the backstage and the duel arena, the crowd had packed themselves in to watch the game. Shoulder to shoulder, they murmured among themselves as they waited for things to start. While many were disbelieving of Phantom's supposed appearance here earlier, something about the shared anticipation spreading through them began to change the atmosphere. This _was_ the school with Pendulum Summoning, so it wasn't exactly impossible for him to be here, right?

Among the crowd stood a young man in purple, hand to his chin as he observed the jittering excitement of the masses. "Interesting," he commented, impressed at how much attention this was getting before anything had even begun. From the outside, this old duel school didn't seem that impressive, yet it still managed to draw in such a crowd. Maybe it was worth watching the show.

Then the lights shut off. Just as suddenly, a single spotlight illuminated the center of the Action Field, Yuzu standing before the crowd. She could just make them out on the other side of the glass, the Solid Vision thinner there to allow the duelists a better view of the spectators.

Several people clapped, some out of courtesy but many more out of recognition for her duel with Dark Diva not that long ago. Her reputation was growing, meaning so was the school's. The thought erased any sense of unease or stagefright within her mind as she prepared to kick things off.

"Welcome to You Show Duel School," she announced, a group of several monsters - some of her Melodious, a few of her father's Gutsmasters, and an assortment of others belonging to other students at the school - materializing beside and behind her to match her movements.

"Thank you for visiting us today," she continued. "I remember a lot of you from the event before. And I'm sure you remember what happened there." She clenched a fist, holding it to her chest. "I took on the criminal Dark Diva, and through those struggles, I created a new power called Pendulum Summon!"

More applause as she expected. As it died down, she grew more serious. "But that power...Pendulum Summon...it's in danger!" The crowd seemed to be getting into it, several of them appearing to be genuinely concerned at hearing this.

The gaze of each person in the stadium was concentrated only on the action field, where a few lights were trained on the exact center. Yuzu is there gaining the public's adoration and recognizing her for her previous duel against the Diva.

Before she could give a response, the spotlight cut out as another appeared further down the field. Gasps and screams shook the building as this devious new character stepped forward, cape billowing behind him.

"I see you all recognize me," he said, voice booming as he deepened it as much as he could. "Yes, it's me, the one and only Phantom!" Yuya bellowed out a chorus of laughs he thought sounded super evil, flipping his cape to try and appear even more intimidating. Unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately knowing him), his overacting had ruined much of the gravitas his initial appearance brought with it, only a few children still feeling genuine fear as they watched him stomp across the stage.

"He's just a clown," the stranger scoffed from the audience, unimpressed by the legendary Phantom in the flesh.

Looks like it was up to Yuzu to save the day again. Hopefully, she could keep things moving and try to force Yuya into her rhythm, restoring some of the suspension of disbelief for the crowd. "You've finally appeared, Phantom! I'll make you pay for threatening our peaceful city!" Pointing a finger accusingly, she dropped the bomb just as planned. "I don't know how you did it, you devil thief of dreams, but somehow you found a way to steal Pendulum Summon!"

There it was. The audience was immediately back on board now. Phantom could Pendulum Summon? Someone else could Pendulum Summon besides the girl from You Show? Did that mean that maybe everyone in the audience could learn to Pendulum Summon? All questions that Yuzu had wanted them to start considering.

Yuya let out another laugh, running forward and throwing his arm forward. From his hand, a snake monster appeared and uncurled to latch onto the ceiling. Swinging from it, he did a somersault in midair before landing only a few inches in front of Yuzu. Villain or not, his athletic prowess drew a few claps from the crowd just on principle.

"And that's not all I plan to steal," he said with a smirk. "I'll steal your title as the creator of Pendulum Summoning while I'm here! So let's duel for it, Juno!"

Yuzu scoffed at this, crossing her arms in defiance. "And what are you going to do with that title? Why try to fight me for it?"

"It's what I do," he argued. "I'm a thief. I steal the hopes and dreams of those around me. And if I were to steal your title from you, I'd also steal the hopes and dreams of everyone in the audience, too!"

"You really have no honor," she spat back, jumping back and activating her duel disk.

"Say what you want," he said as he copied her movements, the background characters fading out as they prepared themselves for combat. "In the end, though, I'll be the winner. Then I'll have Pendulum Summoning all to myself!"

"I won't let that happen!" she replied. "Pendulum Summoning isn't something to hoard for yourself. Everyone with the will to learn and the heart of a duelist has the right to learn!"

He laughed once more. "Then this duel should decide who really gets to decide what happens to Pendulum Summoning."

"If that's how you want it, then fine! My duel is one of justice, and I won't let someone like you tarnish Pendulum Summoning any further!"

"Let's see if your justice is really as strong as you say it is!"

The two took flight, the Solid Vision blades on their duel disks clashing as they and the audience began the customary chant.

"Duelists locked in battle!"

Their positions changed, Yuzu taking Yuya by the hand and twirling him into a dip as if they were dancing. This caught him off guard as they hadn't practiced this kind of thing before, though he figured she must be getting back at him for all of his improvisation. Still, she didn't look too happy about it, almost seeming sad as he glanced up at her face.

"Kicking the earth and dancing in the air alongside their monsters! They storm through this field!"

They broke off, jumping towards opposite ends of the arena.

"Behold! This is the newest and greatest evolution of dueling! Action Duel!"

A golden orb above the field burst open, Action Cards raining down like shooting stars in the darkness. As they dissipated, the full field they'd be battling in revealed itself to the crowd. It was an enormous circus area, platforms and trapeze equipment rising up from thin air and illuminated by multicolored beams of light. A perfect field for the two to show their skills.

"I think I'll steal the first turn," Yuya began, drawing his hand to begin the game. "I'll summon my friend, Entermate Discover Hippo, to start us off!" It was a signature opening move for him, the dapper pink hippopotamus materializing and tipping its hat to the audience.

Entermate Discover Hippo 800 ATK/800 DEF

Jumping onto the hippo's back, it took off to search the field for Action Cards. As he rode on top of it, Yuya placed another card onto the field. "I'll also activate Barrier Bubble!" Shimmering bubbles blasted out of the card as it appeared, loosely surrounding the two as they moved.

"And what's that supposed to do?" Yuzu asked, prompting him to explain for the audience.

He scoffed. "You can't read it for yourself?" he asked mockingly.

"For the audience, thief!"

With a chuckle, he relented. "Fine, fine. With this card on the field, my Entermate monsters are impervious to destruction once per turn each. These bubbles even wash off any damage I might take during battle, too." He set another card alongside it. "Turn end!"

"Then I'm up, draw!" Yuzu jogged along behind Yuya, the gap between them growing larger each second she wasted on foot. "I activate Foolish Burial, letting me send Majestic Knight Flora Shield straight from my deck to the Graveyard." She then placed another card, golden light shining above as it clicked into place inside the duel disk. "I'll use my own Continuous Spell called Castle of the Gods - Valhalla! With this on the field, I can instantly summon a Fairy monster from my hand as long as I don't control any other monsters. Come out, Majestic Knight Mozarta of Melodies!"

Majestic Knight Mozarta of Melodies 2600 ATK/ 2000 DEF

Mozarta appeared in a shower of light, flying next to Yuzu before grabbing her hand and taking off. They caught up to Yuya quickly after that, tailing right above him. Mozarta then tossed her forward, blocking Yuya's path and cutting him off from both the front and back.

"I'll follow that up by activating EN-Angel Gladiolus in my hand, summoning itself and increasing my Life Points by 100 for each of Mozarta's Levels."

Yuzu 8000 = 8800

Skidding to a stop, Yuya's hippo looked side to side to try and get an opening to advance as more and more obstacles began to surround the two. "You haven't trapped us yet, Juno," Yuya said defiantly.

"I'm not done," she said. "I'll now use Mozarta's own effect and summon back Flora Shield!"

Majestic Knight Flora Shield 1300 ATK/ 2300 DEF

"While I control her, all my LIGHT monsters gain 300 ATK."

Mozarta: 2900 ATK

Gladiolus: 900 ATK

Flora Shield: 1600 ATK

Yuya clicked his tongue. That firmly put both monsters over his in terms of power. With just Mozarta and Gladiolus, he would have been perfectly fine. Now, though, he was staring down the barrel of some heavy damage."

"Battle!" she declared. "Gladiolus, attack Discover Hippo!" The monster nocked an arrow, pulling back and loosing it towards the panicked hippo. The arrow sailed forward, though it wouldn't hit its target. Instead, it collided with one of the huge bubbles from before, popping it and being knocked off course.

"Too bad for you, Barrier Bubble is still in effect. That means my Hippo is just fine, plus I won't take any damage." He took the chance to act as smug as possible before the tables inevitably turned here.

And turn they would if Yuzu had anything to say about it. Immediately, she launched into another attack. "Flora Shield, go! Destroy Discover Hippo!" Drawing up energy into the face of its shield, it blasted it out towards the enemy in the gap the last attack had made in the bubble wall.

Yuya managed to jump off his monster's back before the attack connected, the hippo blown to pieces and disintegrating as he rolled into a crouch a short ways away. "Sorry, buddy," he whispered under his breath. Couldn't afford to let people see him break character there.

"Too bad for you," he said, standing back up to face Yuzu. "Barrier Bubble still protected me from damage."

That might have been true, but he now lacked an Entermate to protect himself. "The damage should make it through this time!" Yuzu said, Mozarta flying up. "Direct attack! Glorious Wind!" The monster drew a piano-styled sword from its sheath, swinging it through the air to send a blast of wind and oversized, pastel music notes into Yuya's body.

He braced himself against the tornado force, pressing the screen of his duel disk. "Trap activate! Entermate Call!" The card materialized and flipped up, the wind pulled into the image and removing its effects entirely. "You fell for my trap, Juno! This card can only be used when I'm attacked directly."

She frowned. "You're saying you planned all of this?" she asked him.

"Of course!" He laughed again, hands on hips as he stopped the action to remind everyone just how evil his character was. He continued, "Your attack is negated, and then I get to add two new Entermate monsters to my deck who have DEF less than or equal to your monster's ATK."

A pair of cards ejected themselves into his hand, Yuya holding them in the air for all to see. "I'll take my friends, Entermate Skullcrobat Joker and Entermate Ballad, and add them to my hand!" He laughed again, though this wasn't the forced, dramatic kind from before. "Your monster's pretty impressive. I really felt that attack. Got a little scared watching it coming right at me."

Yuzu scowled at him, frustrated that he was already breaking his incredibly shoddy character. Holding back a mean whisper, she just continued her turn. "In that case, I activate Advance Draw. This tributes my Mozarta to let me draw two new cards." Her monster disappeared as quickly as it had arrived. "You aren't the only one who can add cards."

This seemed to concern several people here, Yuya included. "But why would you get rid of your ace monster just to draw some cards?" he asked. He made a show of tilting his head to play up his confusion.

"There's more than one way to achieve victory," she replied cryptically. "I didn't get where I am today by just relying on one strategy." Was that some kind of veiled insult? "I set two cards. Turn end. Now Flora Shield returns to my hand due to Mozarta's effect."

Gladiolus' ATK decreased as its companion left the field. Even so, this didn't shake Yuzu's conviction. She had faith in her style of dueling and what she fought for. She'd win and prove herself superior to Phantom. For the sake of the audience, of course.

"Then it's my turn, draw!" Yuya caught himself smiling a bit too much here, returning to character a moment later. He wasn't used to playing a villain no matter what LDS might say about him. "I hope you're prepared, Juno! You left yourself wide open, so I have no choice but to take advantage of your mistakes!"

He took a card from his hand and activated it. "Entermate Cast Change! I'll reveal as many Entermate monsters in my hand as I want, then return them to my deck to draw one more card than what I had before." He held up a single card. "Get a good look at Partnaga here. He's going away now so I can draw an extra two cards!"

Taking the extra draw, he nodded at the result. "Now I'm prepared to put on a show none of you will ever forget. Let's go, Entermate Skullcrobat Joker!" The cartoonish devil jumped out of its card in front of Yuya, snickering into its hands as its effect activated.

Entermate Skullcrobat Joker: 1800/100

"Skullcrobat Joker's effect! When this card is summoned, I can add Entermate Barracuda to my hand!" He took the card as it was ejected, picking up a second to go with it. With a single swift movement, he placed both cards down on his duel disk. "I'll use the Scale 2 Entermate Ballad and the Scale 5 Entermate Barracuda to set the Pendulum Scales before you, Juno!"

Yuzu couldn't hide that hearing that stung. It was one thing to practice with Pendulum and another entirely to see it right in front of her in a real duel, especially one with a crowd. And she hadn't even been the one to start it off. It somehow felt shameful.

The rose-themed monsters rose up beside Yuya in columns of light, their respective numbers underneath them. A pendulum began to swing between the two. "How's it look? As good as it felt to do it yourself? You were such a good teacher for me. Still, there always comes a time when the student surpasses the master, so let me show you what a real Pendulum master can do!"

He raised a hand, calling out, "Swing, pendulum of the soul! Draw an arc of light across the ether! Pendulum Summon! Appear, my monsters!" A portal opened between the two monsters, energy blasting from it onto the field in front of him. "Entermate Silver Claw, Entermate Pendulum Sorcerer, serve me!"

His monsters stood side by side with one another, the silver wolf and red-and-silver-accented magician taking the stage beside Skullcrobat Joker.

Entermate Silver Claw: 1800/700

Entermate Pendulum Sorcerer: 1500/800

Yuya took the chance to mount Silver Claw, flipping onto its back and riding off like he had earlier in search of an Action Card. They were being awfully elusive today. Oh well, they'd turn up eventually.

Yuzu followed close behind, though she was once again outpaced by her opponent. She was quickly growing more frustrated with all of this, both being left in the dust and Yuya's constant mistakes. He continued breaking character for cheap entertainment, not that his performance in character up to this point had been very convincing either. For all his talk of making people smile, his cheap acrobatic stunts and too-goofy-to-take-seriously attitude wouldn't have much lasting impact on the crowd or the registration papers.

A short ways off, Silver Claw jumped up to a circular platform, letting its rider off. "Battle!" Yuya declared, his monster growling. "Silver Claw, slice up Gladiolus!"

Howling into the sky, Silver Claw dove for the enemy monster, glowing golden as it flew through the air. "Silver Claw's effect activates! When Silver Claw attacks, all my Entermate monsters gain 300 ATK until the end of the Battle Phase!"

Silver Claw ATK: 1800+300 = 2100

Pendulum Sorcerer ATK: 1500+300= 1800

Skullcrobat Joker ATK: 1800+300 = 2100

"And now that it's the Damage Step," he continued, "I activate Entermate Ballad's effect in the Pendulum Zone!" The monster began to sing, glowing a similar gold to Silver Claw. "Gladiolus loses 600 ATK!"

Gladiolus ATK: 600 – 600 = 0

Now she was truly defenseless. A monster with zero ATK was the same as no monster at all. That seemed to be the philosophy the enemy was working under, Silver Claw tearing right through Gladiolus and slamming into her before finally stopping.

Juno LP: 8800 – 2100 = 6700

Even worse, her own effect now came back to haunt her. After summoning itself, Gladiolus came with a curse, inflicting as much damage as it had restored Life Points when it came to the field. A purple aura overtook Yuzu, choking her as her points fell once again.

Juno LP: 6700 - 800 = 5900

Yuya took a running start, leaping off the platform and grabbing one of the trapeze bars hanging in midair. Swinging from one side to the next, he flipped up onto a higher platform, bellowing out another dramatic laugh before pointing down to Yuzu. "Now, Juno, take the full force of my next two attacks!"

Action Cards didn't seem to be an option right now, Skullcrobat Joker and Pendulum Sorcerer barreling forward towards Yuzu before she even had time to search the area. They laid into her like an assault from the world's most flamboyant street gang, both attacks connecting and obliterating all but a quarter of her total starting Life Points.

Juno LP: 5900 - 2100 - 1800 = 2000

Knocking onto her back, Yuzu wasted no time in jumping back up to face her foe. Reactions from the crowd were mixed, unfortunately. Some looked appropriately concerned that their hero was being pushed this hard, though others were actually cheering for Phantom. Yuya seemed to be taking the latter quite well, giving a bow directly to the audience.

As the Battle Phase came to an end, so too did Silver Claw's boost. "I set a card face-down to bring my turn to a close," he declared, his monsters working their way skyward to stand around Yuya on his platform. "What do you think so far? Are you surprised to see how well your student has learned?" He laughed once more. "It looks like your crown is slipping from your head, Juno. Soon, I'll have stolen your most prized possession. Pendulum Summoning will be all mine!"

She didn't reply immediately, too focused on finding a way to recover. "Draw!" At least this new card would help her get on the way to doing that. "I activate Pot of Greed and Avarice!" she said, sliding the card into her duel disk. "I banish the top ten cards from my deck in order to draw two more."

It was a steep cost, that much was for sure. Both Yuya and the crowd seemed shocked that she'd sacrifice so much of her deck for this strategy. Still, there was no negation, so it was still two free cards.

The large pot depicted on the card materialized, the purple side licking up ten cards from the top of Yuzu's deck before it turned around, the green face belching out two more for her to draw. It disappeared after that, everyone waiting to see whether this gamble paid off.

Cracking a smile, Yuzu was ready to start her comeback now that she'd seen what she was able to draw. "First, I'm going to activate my set card, Angel's Blossom!" The card flipped up, shimmering. "I return Mozarta from my Extra Deck to my Main Deck, then add EN-Angel Anemone to my hand!"

Now everything was in place. Taking two of the cards in her hand, she slid them onto her empty field just as Yuya had done earlier. "I use the Scale 1 EN-Angel Amaryllis and the Scale 9 EN-Angel Anemone to set the Pendulum Scales!"

Both duelists were able to play at full power now, the crowd in awe of seeing two sets of Pendulum Monsters hovering behind their owners. They waited with bated breath, Yuya included, for the moment she'd summon her monsters.

That would have to wait, however. Yuzu had something else in mind now, placing another card on the field. "I activate Majestic Recruitment next, placing three Angel Counters onto itself." What the purpose of that wasn't apparent at the moment, though it did serve to further stoke the fires of anticipation for the upcoming Pendulum Summon.

Then, in what seemed like a miraculous turn of events, one of them actually found an Action Card. Yuzu snagged it from the ground next to a pillar as she ran by, catching Yuya off guard and causing him to jump back onto Silver Claw and return to the lower levels. He'd spent too much time boasting up top, neglecting the crucial element of finding cards inherent to Action Duels.

As soon as Yuya touched down nearby, Yuzu raised a hand to the sky. "I activate my monster's effects in the Pendulum Zones. As long as you control more monsters than I do, I can excavate the top cards of my deck and summon a new monster from the cards I get with a Level between my current Pendulum Scales."

"One and nine," Yuya commented. "That means anything with a Level from two to eight."

"Exactly," she said, the crowd hyping themselves up at this unorthodox means of pseudo-Pendulum Summoning. "For Amaryllis, it's five cards. For Anemone, it's four. Now go, both of you!"

For the first effect, five cards ejected from the top of her deck, appearing as huge holograms behind her as she inspected their real counterparts in her hand. "Come out, Majestic Knight Royal Breaker!" As the four remaining cards were shuffled back into the deck, an armored warrior came crashing onto the field in front of Yuzu, twirling a massive warhammer overhead.

Majestic Knight Royal Breaker: 1900/1300

"Next is Anemone's effect!" she called out, four more cards repeating the process again. "Let's go, Majestic Knight Percival the Brave!"

Majestic Knight Percival the Brave: 1600/800

"Since Percival is a LIGHT Pendulum Monster, Anemone's other effect gives it an extra 200 ATK, too," she added as the monster appeared beside its comrade.

Majestic Knight Percival the Brave ATK: 1600 + 200 = 1800

A portal opened between the two monsters floating above her. "And now, for the moment you've all been waiting for," she began, silence falling over the arena as they await those magic words. "The doors of the dimensions will open again. A power born from the bond between separated lovers! Pendulum Summon!"

Energy rushed out of the space between Yuzu's cards, monsters appearing on her field backed by the cheering of the crowd. "Flora Shield returns," she said, "but now we're welcoming a new monster to fight alongside us. Heavenly guardian, protector of the helpless and the protector of humanity. Come forth! Level 7! Majestic Knight Pendulum King of Justice!"

Yuzu's monster completely dwarfed everything else on the field, duelists included. It barely had room to stand within the arena, making the once spacious Action Field seem too cramped to function. The crowd was loving this.

Majestic Knight Pendulum King of Justice: 2500/2000

And so was Yuya, it seemed. "That's awesome!" he cheered, laughing and clapping his hands. "So this is what you had planned. You're really something else, Yuzu!"

Regardless of whatever positive emotions she might be feeling from these compliments, this simply couldn't be forgiven. He broke character again, and this time he even used her real name.

Maybe getting smacked around by her attacks would teach him a lesson. "Like before, Anemone increases my monster's ATK," she said, the mechanical creature drawing back its fists at its sides as the slight boost in power set it ablaze in golden flames.

Majestic Knight Pendulum King of Justice ATK: 2700

Now was the time to strike. This duel had been in Yuya's control for far too long. "Battle!" she declared. "Percival, destroy Entermate Silver Claw!"

Yuzu's monster reared back, shouting as it lunged at the enemy with its hammer above its head. "You should know that isn't going to work," Yuya told her. "Our monsters have equal ATK. Plus, I still have Barrier Bubble on the field."

Yuzu smirked. "Aren't you forgetting something?" she asked. "Flora Shield still has an effect. My LIGHT monsters all gain an extra 300 ATK!"

Majestic Knight Pendulum King of Justice ATK: 3000

Majestic Knight Percival the Brave ATK: 2100

Majestic Knight Flora Shield ATK: 1800

Majestic Knight Royal Breaker ATK: 2200

Yuya grit his teeth. His monster and his Life Points were still safe for now, something clear to see as Percival's hammer bounced off one of the bubbles floating around his monsters. However, he knew all too well that Yuzu wouldn't just be attacking for fun. Her monsters were strong enough to make this next hit stick.

"Now, Pendulum King of Justice, finish where Percival left off! Attack Silver Claw with Majestic Slash!" In one swift motion, Silver Claw was cleaved in half, exploding and sending a shockwave back towards Yuya. "You might not take the damage from battle, but my monster's effect inflicts effect damage equal to your monster's ATK!"

Phantom LP: 8000 – 6200.

"Turn end," she said. Continuing to attack wouldn't accomplish anything, especially with Flora Shield in Defense Position. "During the End Phase, I remove an Angel Counter from Majestic Recruitment." Taking a small bow similar to Yuya's from before, she stopped there for now.

Yuya hopped to his feet, quickly recovering from the damage. He took a deep breath, collecting his thoughts before proceeding. "Draw!" he said, grinning from ear to ear. Forget characters at this point; he was having too much fun now that Yuzu's biggest and best monster was out there. He had no choice but to play as himself. Otherwise, he couldn't get serious.

Jumping up, his remaining monsters boosted Yuya higher into the air. Landing on a platform, he spread his arms wide as a spotlight closed in on him. "Ladies and gentlemen!" he announced, not a single trace of the villainous persona from before to be seen. "Our dazzling Juno has finally shown us how much she's capable of! Now that her ace monster is out, it seems like victory is only a turn or two away. What can a simple thief like me do now?"

Jumping onto a trampoline, Yuya removed both his monsters from the field, springing up even higher than before. "I've got it!" he announced. "If you're using your strongest monster, I'll just have to use mine, too!"

Doing a flip, Yuya took a card from his hand to replace the two he'd just removed. "Appear! The Dragon with wondrous and beautiful dichromatic eyes! Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon!" His monster materialized underneath him, allowing him to land on its back before he hit the ground and screeching into the air.

Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon: 2500/2000

Patting the monster on the side of its head, Yuya took off again. "Get ready, Juno," he said. "The fun has just begun!" This was the signal for the portal between his monsters to activate, energy flowing out from it. "Pendulum Summon! Come back, Entermate Silver Claw, Skullcrobat Joker, and Pendulum Sorcerer!" The three rejoined Odd-Eyes as they moved across the room, his field now filled almost to bursting with monsters despite Yuzu's efforts from the last turn.

"Summon whatever you like," Yuzu said defiantly. "None of your monsters are strong enough to take down Pendulum King of Justice." Though his mass summoning had unsettled her at first, it all seemed performative now. Unless something changed in the next few seconds, there wasn't much Yuya could do to turn this around.

A few seconds later and Yuya wagged his finger. "Hold on there," he said. "I'm not just going to attack, you know. First, I need to finish setting the stage!" Pendulum Sorcerer began to glow, the set Ballad and Barracuda doing the same. "Pendulum Sorcerer's effect! I can destroy two of my cards to add a new pair of Entermate monsters to my hand!"

His Pendulum Scales disappeared, shocking the crowd. He might have used Pendulum Summoning this turn, but was it really going to be okay to just throw it away now? Even Yuzu wasn't sure what he might be planning now.

"Thanks to those two, I get to add Entermate Odd-Eyes Unicorn and Entermate Partnaga to my hand, then set the Pendulum Scales again!" Just as the other two had before, these new monsters appeared in columns of light behind their owner, a 3 and 8 under the appropriate cards.

"Not bad," Yuzu complimented. "You must really know your stuff if you can do something like that. Destroying your own Pendulum Monsters to gain an advantage is pretty advanced."

Yuya laughed. "Why, thank you," he replied, standing to bow on top of Odd-Eyes. "I'm just following your example, though." A moment later, he shifted back to making plays. "Now, Partnaga activates! I target Odd-Eyes, then give him an extra 300 ATK for every Entermate card I have on the field. Can you count how many I have now?"

"It's five," Yuzu grumbled. This situation was quickly getting out of hand, demonstrated by Partnaga's tail-hand reaching out to pat Odd-Eyes, granting it an huge increase in strength.

Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon ATK: 2500 + 1500 = 4000

"Battle!" Yuya declared, Odd-Eyes roaring once again. "Go, attack Pendulum King of Justice!" he ordered, his monster gathering a spiraling ball of red energy within its mouth before blasting it out at the target. "But that's not all. When my Odd-Eyes monster attacks, Unicorn's effect activates! Now Odd-Eyes gains the same ATK as Silver Claw for the rest of the Battle Phase!"

Odd Eyes Pendulum Dragon ATK: 4000 + 1800 = 5800

Mid-flight, the attack doubled in size. If this attack connected, it would surely end the game right there. Yuzu couldn't let happen. "Action Magic, Evasion!" she declared, placing the card she'd picked up earlier into the duel disk. "My monster can dodge your attack now!"

Despite her card's immense size, Pendulum King of Justice managed a small hop backwards, just barely escaping Odd-Eyes' blast with barely a centimeter of room to spare.

"Good dodge!" Yuya complimented, laughing at the bizarre movements of the enemy monster. "But you can't stop all of us! Go, Silver Claw! Attack Percival next!" Just like before, Silver Claw's effect boosted the ATK of its allies.

Silver Claw ATK: 1800+300 = 2100

Pendulum Sorcerer ATK: 1500+300= 1800

Skullcrobat Joker ATK: 1800+300 = 2100

"That won't work!" Yuzu said. "Percival won't be destroyed by battle the first time each turn!" Her monster met Yuya's head on, slamming into Silver Claw. The force from both knocked the other backwards, though neither was destroyed thanks to Barrier Bubble.

"Follow up, Skullcrobat Joker!" The opening made by Silver Claw's attack proved the perfect opportunity for Yuya's next monster to swoop in and get the kill. A quick jab through Percival's armor was all it took to destroy the monster. Just as before, the bubbles protected the attacker from destruction.

"When my monster is destroyed, Majestic Recruitment gains another Angel Counter," Yuzu said, her card returning to the status from the last turn.

"One day you'll have to show what that card does," Yuya smirked. "Hopefully it's going to be soon, since I end my turn. What are you going to do now, Juno?" His monsters returned to their original ATK value.

She didn't reply, the Angel Counter she'd just gained vanishing as the turns passed. "Draw!" she finally said, trying to focus on what to do next. It didn't help that the crowd had entirely turned on her, Yuya soaking in the applause as if he was the hero this entire time.

"Why are you doing this?" she finally asked. "Do you just want to make me upset?"

Yuya cocked his head, still smiling. "I'm just doing what I always do; I'm spreading smiles. Why would anyone want to duel if they can't make other people happy? It's what Yusho Sakaki would want."

He was just mocking her now. He had to be. Any pretense of playing a character was gone now just so he could mess around. All that planning meant nothing to him as long as he got the attention he desperately craved. Did he even really care about pleasing the audience like he said or was this all just self-aggrandizement?

Yuzu shook her head, fed up with this charade. "Your selfish and naive entertainment isn't going to satisfy anyone," she said, these words seeming to dig a bit deeper for Yuya than her normal criticism. "You're just an amateur trying to steal the spotlight like you steal everything else. You call yourself an Entertainment Duelist with your outdated gimmicks and cheap gags? Not at my school! I'll show you and everyone else what real entertainment is!"

Raising a hand, Yuzu activated her Pendulum Monster's effect. "Amaryllis excavates the top five cards of my deck, letting me summon the Majestic Knight Flower Magician among them!" With the appearance of the new magical monster, their fields were tied in number of forces once again.

Majestic Knight: Flower Magician: 1200/0

"I then activate this card, Poison of the Old Man. It lets me either inflict 800 damage to you or gain 1200 Life Points for myself. This time, I'm going to be restoring my own Life Points. And with Amaryllis' effect, that doubles to 2400. A magical green aura enveloped Yuzu, almost feeling as refreshing as she imagined the drink to actually be as depicted on the card.

Juno LP: 2000 + 2400 = 4400

"Now, Royal Breaker and Flower Magician activate their effects. First, Royal Breaker allows me to destroy a face-up Magic or Trap card because I gained Life Points, so Barrier Bubble is finally popped for good!"

Yuya grit his teeth, this new counterattack seeming even more effective than the last. His main source of defense was gone now, meaning his monsters and his Life Points were vulnerable for the first time since the start of the duel.

"Next, Flower Magician lets us both draw a new card." A good draw to say the least, though it seemed Yuya also managed to get something of value in the exchange. Whatever, though. If all went well, he'd never get the chance to use it.

"You were wondering about Majestic Recruitment earlier," Yuzu said. "Now I think it's time to show you what it can do. I remove two Angel Counters from my card to summon a Level 3 or lower LIGHT Fairy from my deck in Defense Mode!" Her choice was Majestic Knight Harmonious Nympha, a blue-armored woman rising up from a spout of water and twirling a trident in her hands.

Majestic Knight Harmonious Nympha: 1200/1000

With its Counters gone, Majestic Recruitment was automatically destroyed. It had served its purpose, though. "Nympha's effect," Yuzu explained, "gives all Majestic Knight monsters on my field an extra 200 ATK." This was already on top of all the additions they were already receiving from her other cards.

Pendulum King of Justice ATK: 3200

Flora Shield ATK: 2000

Royal Breaker ATK: 2400

Flower Magician ATK: 1900

Nympha ATK: 1700

A full field of powerful monsters and a clear path towards victory was good news for Yuzu. Just for some added insurance, though, she played another card. "I activate Majestic Healing. Now, whenever I inflict damage with one of my LIGHT Pendulum monsters, I'll gain 200 Life Points. I'll also get to place an Angel Counter on Majestic Healing.

Yuya was still entirely dumbfounded by what was going on around him, sitting on his dragon and gawking as all of this happened around him. Yuzu wasn't about to let this chance pass her up, sprinting forward and watching him and Odd-Eyes lurch back in surprise. This let her slide right between her opponent's legs, snagging an Action Card he'd missed in the process.

"Action Magic, Power Gem!" she declared. "With this, Royal Breaker gains another 800 ATK!"

Royal Breaker ATK: 2400 + 800 = 3200

As the crowd cheered, Yuzu moved in for the kill. "Battle! Royal Breaker, smash Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon flat!" The dragon boosted its master off its back, facing down the enemy with a screech. It was all ultimately fruitless, though, the hammer coming down and crushing it into dust without any issue.

Phantom LP: 6200 – 700 = 5500

"Now, Pendulum King of Justice, attack Silver Claw again! Majestic Slash!" Just like before, Yuzu's monster tore Silver Claw in half with a single swipe. This time, however, both the effect and battle damage connected, blasting Yuya backwards across the floor.

Phantom LP: 5500 - 1800 = 3700

Phantom LP: 3700 – 1400 = 2300

"Majestic Healing's effect gives me 200 Life Points now that I've inflicted damage with a Pendulum Monster," she added. "And Amaryllis doubles that to 400!" The card also gained an Angel Counter, a golden aura surrounding Yuzu as she recovered her Life.

Juno LP: 4400 + 400 = 4800

Angel Counter (Majestic Healing): 1

"Now it's your turn, Flora Shield! Destroy Pendulum Sorcerer!" Her monster sent a blast of energy from its shield towards Yuya's card, Pendulum Sorcerer crumbling in the beam with the runoff hitting Yuya himself once again.

Phantom LP: 2300 – 500 = 1800

"Majestic Healing activates once again, giving me another 400 Life Points!"

Juno LP: 4800 + 400 = 5200

Angel Counter (Majestic Healing): 2

"Flower Magician, take out Skullcrobat Joker and clear his field!" Beneath the enemy monster's feet appeared a pink sigil, freezing Skullcrobat Joker in place. This allowed Flower Magician to glide up and gracelessly bash it over the head with a thorn-covered cane, destroying it and activating Majestic Healing's effect for a final time.

Phantom LP: 1800 – 100 = 1700

Juno LP: 5200 + 400 = 5600

Angel Counter (Majestic Healing): 3

"It's too bad about Recruitment forcing me to summon in Defense Mode," Yuzu said. "If that wasn't required, I'd have already won." The numbers didn't lie there. "Make the most of your last turn after this, Phantom. On my next turn, I'll bring you to justice!"

The crowd seemed to love that line, roaring with approval as the successful turn came to a close. Fickle as they were, they were at least back on her side now. And unless Yuya could pull off a true miracle here, that's where they'd stay.

It seemed like a miracle was exactly what Yuya was counting on, though, as he hadn't given up despite his earlier attitude. Whatever funk had overtaken him after Yuzu's insults appeared to be clearing, a smile returning to his lips as he let out an overly loud, somewhat forced laugh.

Several seconds passed like this, the crowd quieting as things became more and more unsettling. Then Yuya stood up, stretching his legs and taking a breath before he raised his duel disk again.

"That was a really good hit," he congratulated her. "But Juno, you should know better than to think you've won already. I always have an extra trick up my sleeve just for situations like this!" Yuya was over the suave and charismatic villain route. Playing the role of plucky underdog was much more appealing now.

Yuzu bit her lip, unsure of what to make of the current situation. It was undeniable that Yuya was cornered here. Even with that mystery card in hand, his chances of actually making a meaningful attempt at beating her were slim to none. What could he possibly be planning?

"I activate my Trap, Entermate Revival!" The card sprang up, Yuya jumping into the air once again. "Since my monster was destroyed, I get to summon an Entermate card from my hand or Graveyard. Time for an encore, Entermate Discover Hippo!"

Yuya fell directly on top of his monster as it rose up from the ground, both raising an arm to wave to the crowd before setting off in search of an Action Card once more.

Yuzu scoffed, jumping into Pendulum King of Justice's hand as the monster lumbered along behind Yuya. "This was your last resort?" she asked. "It's a good effort, but I'm not sure what you can do with just that monster."

"Don't underestimate my hippo!" he called back, the two making a jump onto a trampoline to get to a higher platform. "I've learned from dueling you that you can always find a way to come back if you're just willing to try!"

A nice sentiment, but she wasn't sure what he was hoping for now. "It almost sounds like I've won you over," she said. "Could it be that my justice is going to purify the heart of the evil Phantom?"

Yuya didn't respond at first, only muttering, "There!" as he jumped from his monster's back. Barely catching the edge of another platform, he pulled himself up and added the Action Card he'd touched to his hand. "There we go. This should do the trick."

He turned to face Yuzu now, the two nearly eye level given her monster's size. "Maybe you already have," Yuya finally said. "I've learned a lot in this duel, Juno. Both about myself and about you." This seemed to confuse her, so he continued. "You said earlier that my dueling is childish. Maybe you're right about that, but isn't that the point of Action Duels?"

The crowd had fallen silent, hanging off these unexpected words from Phantom. "Action Duels are about fighting it out as hard as you can side-by-side with your monsters, but most of all, they're about having fun. And that's something I noticed you aren't doing much of, Juno." This actually managed to get at least one gasp from someone in the crowd.

With a smirk, Yuya nodded his head. "Your justice might have changed my heart, but it's corrupted yours! You're so set on it that you've forgotten what it feels like to enjoy a duel!" He pointed towards her. "Juno! I'm not going to steal Pendulum Summoning anymore! You're right about passing it on to others. Instead, I'm going to steal your heart!"

Yuzu's face turned as red as her suit. "What's that supposed to mean?" she muttered indignantly.

He gave her a wink before replying "It means I'm going to make you remember how to have fun and free you from these rough, adult-like duels you've been stuck with!" Placing his fingers on top of his deck, he shouted, "It's my turn, draw!"

Unbeknownst to everyone though, tucked away in a hidden corner of the arena, another figure stood. Dressed in the Maiami City school uniform, and with a glowing card perched within his hand, the figure gazed pensively at the duel. 'Hmm, this Phantom… He seems to be quite new to this, missing out on basic features of the Duel whilst prostituting himself to the audience. If anything, not only is that Juno quite the looker, but I bet she's got a trick or two up her sleeve.' He glanced down at the glowing card in his hand, the fact it was doing so still shocked him. 'But still, that card, Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon… What's with this reaction?

On the field, Yuya looked over his hand now that he'd drawn his card. He could already see every move he'd have to make to win this duel. If he did that, there was no way Yuzu wouldn't come to his side. As important as getting new students was, he was now more sure than ever that she'd need to rediscover her sense of fun if she was going to teach them anything resembling Yusho Sakaki's Entertainment Duel.

"Let's start things off," he said, "by saying goodbye to our friend, Entermate Partnaga. I activate this card's effect in the Pendulum Zone by targeting my Discover Hippo. Now my monster gains 300 ATK for every Entermate card on my field. Between Partnaga, Unicorn, and Discover Hippo himself, that's a whole 900 ATK!"

Discover Hippo stood up on its hind legs, taking Partnaga's tail and shaking it to gain a glowing aura of power. Though it was still fairly weak, this was only the beginning of what his turn had in store.

Entermate Discover Hippo ATK: 800 + 900 = 1700

"Now, ladies and gentlemen!" Yuya repeated, arms spread as he soaked in the attention. "It's time! Time for the final Pendulum Summon of this duel! So swing, pendulum of the soul! Let's welcome back my fallen friends in the Extra Deck!" Bursting forth from within the pendulum's arc, Odd-Eyes, Pendulum Sorcerer, Silver Claw, and Barracuda all returned to the field to join Discover Hippo.

Entermate Silver Claw: 1800/700

Entermate Pendulum Sorcerer: 1500/800

Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon: 2500/2000

Entermate Barracuda: 500/1100

Diving onto Odd-Eyes' back, Yuya declared an effect activation. "Since Pendulum Sorcerer was just summoned, I'll use his effect to destroy Partnaga and Unicorn in my Pendulum Zones, then search for Entermate Cheermole and Entermate Drumming Kong to add to my hand!"

As the two cards dispensed themselves into his hand, the spectators awaited the moment he'd activate them. It didn't come, however. Not immediately, at least. Instead, he activated a new card. "Magic Card, Pendulum Storm!"

Yuzu jumped in surprise, knowing full well that that card meant nothing good was about to come.

Confirming her fears, Yuya explained its effect. "Pendulum Storm destroys all the cards in the Pendulum Zones, then allows me to destroy another Magic or Trap Card you control along with them. Say goodbye to Amaryllis and Anemone, plus the Majestic Healing you were so fond of!"

Yuzu shielded herself from the wind, cursing under her breath at the massive loss of resources. Not only did that mean her monsters were going to lose ATK, it also meant Majestic Healing's secondary effect to boost a battler's stats in a pinch was now gone for good. Though he still didn't have a monster strong enough to do any major damage to her, it was still very irritating.

Pendulum King of Justice ATK: 3200 – 200 = 3000

Flora Shield ATK: 2000 – 200 = 1800

Flower Magician ATK: 1900 – 200 = 1700

"Now I'm going to set the Pendulum Scales again with Cheermole and Drumming Kong!" His Scales were now at two and five; limiting, but it wouldn't matter much if things went his way for the rest of the turn. "This means I get to use Cheermole's effect, increasing my Pendulum Monsters' ATK by 400 each."

Finding the courage to reveal itself from behind her pom poms, Cheermole shook them a bit to rally the other monsters on Yuya's field, quickly returning to shielding its face after.

Entermate Silver Claw ATK: 1800 + 400 = 2200

Entermate Pendulum Sorcerer ATK: 1500 + 400 = 1900

Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon ATK: 2500 + 400 = 2900

Entermate Barracuda ATK: 500 + 400 = 900

"Your moves are impressive," Yuzu complimented, "but your monsters still aren't strong enough to get past mine." Despite saying this, she was fully aware his turn wasn't over yet. What else could he be planning?

Taking a card in his hand, Yuya smiled widely and slammed it into his duel disk. "Are you sure about that? I'm activating the card that will ensure my victory, Smile World!" The field was enveloped by multicolored smiling faces, flowers, stars, and more, all of them happy as could be as they tinted the whole field in rainbows. "Smile World increases the ATK of every monster on the field by 100 times the number of monsters. They're all just so happy here!"

Ten monsters in total meant 1000 ATK for all, the creatures all smiling and laughing as their stats increased.

Entermate Silver Claw ATK: 2200 + 1000 = 3200

Entermate Pendulum Sorcerer ATK: 1900 + 1000 = 2900

Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon ATK: 2900 + 1000 = 3900

Entermate Barracuda ATK: 900 + 1000 = 1900

Entermate Hip Hippo ATK: 1700 + 1000 = 2700

Pendulum King of Justice ATK: 3000 + 1000 = 4000

Flora Shield ATK: 1800 + 1000 = 2800

Royal Breaker ATK: 3200 + 1000 = 4200

Flower Magician ATK: 1700 + 1000 = 2700

Harmonious Nympha ATK: 1700 + 1000 = 2700

"I don't see the point of a card like that," Yuzu told him. "All our monsters just gained the same amount. What now?"

Yuya only gave a knowing smile in her direction. "The stage is set!" he declared. "Now it's time to attack! Pendulum Sorcerer, destroy Harmonious Nympha!" Though it may have been in Defense Position to spare Yuzu any damage, her monster wouldn't stand up to the enemy's assault either way. It crumpled under a single blow from Pendulum Sorcerer, taking its effect with it as it left the field.

Pendulum King of Justice ATK: 4000 - 200 = 3800

Flora Shield ATK: 2800 - 200 = 2600

Royal Breaker ATK: 4200 - 200 = 4000

Flower Magician ATK: 2700 - 200 = 2500

Now it's your turn, Silver Claw! Tear Flora Shield to pieces!" Silver Claw's effect activated as it lunged for its prey, raising four out of five of Yuya's monsters' ATK by 300. It was more than enough to break Flora Shield's shield, cutting it to pieces and sending the remaining damage right at Yuzu.

Entermate Silver Claw ATK: 3200 + 300 = 3500

Entermate Discover Hippo ATK: 2700 + 300 = 3000

Entermate Pendulum Sorcerer ATK: 2900 + 300 = 3200

Entermate Barracuda ATK: 2100 + 300 = 2400

Juno LP: 5600 – 900 = 4700

Flora Shield's absence also meant another decrease in power for Yuzu's monsters, Smile World being the only thing keeping them above their original values.

Majestic Knight: Pendulum King of Justice ATK: 3800 – 300 = 3500

Royal Breaker ATK: 4000 – 300 = 3700

Flower Magician ATK: 2500 – 300 = 2200

"Let's go, Odd-Eyes! Hit Pendulum King of Justice with all you've got! Spiral Strike Burst!" The dragon let loose a torrent of spiraling flames directly towards Yuzu's monster, the creature shielding her from the damage as it barely withstood the struggle.

"Pendulum King of Justice won't be destroyed by this battle!" Yuzu told him, heart pounding as she tried to predict what he'd do next while trying to identify anything that looked like an Action Card in the area.

"But you still take the damage!" Yuya shot back. "And when Odd-Eyes battles a Level 5 or higher monster, that damage gets doubled!"

Juno LP: 4700 – 800 = 3900

Though it survived, Pendulum King of Justice fell to one knee. The attack had obviously weakened it. Now that it was vulnerable, was Yuya's aim to destroy it?

"Action Magic, Copy Magic!" Yuya declared, finally using the card he'd obtained earlier. "With this, I can copy the effect of one of the Magic Cards used earlier in the duel. I think I'll take a page out of your book and use Power Gem on Discover Hippo!" With a shout, his monster's ATK grew even further, now a full 3000 points higher than when it first arrived on the field.

Discover Hippo ATK: 3000 + 800 = 3800

Leaping from Odd-Eyes, Yuya mounted Discover Hippo. The two road forward into battle together, the duelist declaring, "Attack Flower Magician!"

This would definitely hurt, but Yuzu was confident it wasn't anything to worry about. That hippo might be surprisingly strong now, but it still lacked the strength necessary to finish her off.

As if sensing her doubt, Yuya activated another effect. "Drumming Kong, effect activate! When my monster attacks, I can have it gain an extra 600 ATK!" From the Pendulum Zone, the ape beat its drum-chest, Discover Hippo running even faster towards its target.

Discover Hippo ATK: 3800 + 600 = 4400

"Now I use Barracuda's effect! If my Entermate monster's ATK is different from its original ATK, I can have my monster gain that difference as ATK for the turn! Right now, Discover Hippo has 3600 more ATK than he started with, meaning my friend here ends up with a total of 8000 ATK!"

Discover Hippo ATK: 4400 + 3600 = 8000

This was utterly absurd. How could a monster that started out with only 800 ATK grow ten times as powerful? To make matters worse, the crowd had turned on her yet again, whooping as the hippo continued its charge at Yuzu's defenseless monster. She was done for now.

At least, she would be if not for her Trap. "Angel's Shield, activate!" she declared. Flower Magician raised its hands, a gleaming barrier forming between it and Discover Hippo. "During this turn, one of my Majestic Knight monsters can't be destroyed in battle."

"But you'll still take the-"

"No, you'll take the damage!"

"What?" What a shocking turn of events.

"That's right," Yuzu said. "Any battle damage I'd take from a battle involving Angel's Shield's target is sent right back at you!"

He couldn't believe she was able to turn this around. And after he went to all the trouble of boosting his monster's power to a full 8000. Was he really going to lose here? Could he maybe have misjudged things? Were his ideals really as shallow as Yuzu had said?

No, that couldn't be it. He couldn't give up. Yusho Sakaki never gave up. He never ran away. There had to be a way out. There just had to be. He couldn't accept defeat like this.

It was as if their brains had synched up at that very moment. Completely on chance, both duelists caught sight of a single Action Card positioned near the center of the field. It was roughly an equal distance between the both of them right now, meaning whoever went for it first would no doubt grab it. And whoever managed to grab it would likely be the one to decide the winner.

Yuya jumped from Discover Hippo's back, Yuzu leaping off her monster's hand at exactly the same moment. Time seemed to slow to a crawl as they both moved through the air, almost defying gravity with how long it felt like they hung there. The crowd, the field, and even their monsters all faded out. All that was left in the entire world now was the two of them and the card they were reaching for.

Crashing into each other in the air, both Yuya and Yuzu tumbled to the ground at the exact moment Discover Hippo banged into Flower Magician's barrier. The monster did its best to push through but was clearly outmatched, falling backwards with a whimper as the energy from its charge was directed back towards Yuya.

His body moving on instinct, Yuya's hand motioned to slip a card into his duel disk. Had he grabbed it? He couldn't even tell, just hoping beyond hope that he had. A second passed, the sound of the attack flying right at him drowning out any other noises.

Then he felt a rush of wind against his side. Looking over, it was a card back. On his screen, he could see it clear as day - it was the Action Card and it was activating now.

With a smile, Yuya stood up. "Action Magic, Showstopper!" he declared, Yuzu looking absolutely dumbfounded by the fact he'd managed to beat her to the punch. "This card negates the battle damage I would take," Yuya read, the card sucking up all of that energy and seeming to balloon up to double its size. "And then, I target a monster on my field," he continued, pointing towards his dazed hippo on the ground. "And then...we both take the damage?"

"Wait, what?" Yuzu questioned. Did she hear that right?

"We take...half of the target's ATK as damage," Yuya repeated, slowly absorbing the text of the card he'd played. "Which means...4000 damage!"

The entirety of the audience let out a collective, "Huh?" as the Showstopper card started to crack, bright yellow light shining from inside it. The two duelists looked to each other in disbelief, not even bracing for the impact that was to come.

And come it did, the card exploding right next to the both of them and sending them hurtling into the walls. It was a complete and utter mess ending in a draw.

Juno LP: 3900 – 4000 = 0

Phantom LP: 1700 – 4000 = 0

Everything fell silent for the next several seconds, holograms fading out as Phantom and Juno lay on opposite ends of the plain arena as confused as everyone else. Eventually, the stranger in purple began to clap, this inspiring another to do the same. Then another. Then another. Before they knew it, the crowd was lit up with excitement yet again. Though this may not have been the conclusive ending they desired, seeing the full force of two expert Pendulum Summoners duke it out like this was what mattered most.

Turning over, Yuya and Yuzu struggled to get to their feet. That last blast had more than knocked the wind out of them, Solid Vision or not. Even from opposite sides of the field, though, they remained locked in conflict if only through their eyes. Neither was satisfied with how things had ended here, both in terms of the duel's results and what it meant for the two of them. This wasn't over. For now, though, they'd just have to take a bow and move on, but only for now.

* * *

Yuya: This duel was intense, I can't wait to have another one.

Yuzu: You'll have to improve first.

Shuzo: Daughter, who is that new student?

Yuzu: Ehh, it can't be, a new You Show student.

Yuya: I can't wait to find out who he is, in the next episode of _**Yugioh Arc v Lost Pendulum: In the Predator's Fangs.**_


End file.
